How Pepper Spray Might Save Your Life From Bear Attack

Climbing, hiking, and mountain climbing have been favorite outdoor activities throughout history, but this year we’re guaranteed to see a rapid rise in the number of families venturing out to explore nature thanks to the skyrocketing price of fuel. With the increased traffic in the backcountry this summer, there will undoubtedly be a rise in the number of bear attacks to follow. It just stands to reason that when more humans venture into wild animal habitat, the outcome is more defensive and predatorial attacks by those animals.

Wildlife experts and park rangers suggest that as outdoor enthusiasts walk, hike or camp in bear territory, or areas in which you’re unsure about bear activity, you exercise these survival tips:

• While walking through the woods, especially when you cannot see more than 50-100 feet in front of you, make a lot of noise – calling out periodically, singing, or even wearing bells. Sound will usually frighten bears away as they rarely seek out confrontation.

• If you see a bear, make sure he sees you. Try to make yourself appear like a much bigger animal by holding your arms high above your head while continuing to talk and slowly back away. Do not run or the bear may chase you.

• Stay away from bears when possible. A female with cubs is naturally very protective and may attack even though you think there is a safe distance between you.

• Arm yourself with a pepper spray canister that is a minimum of 7.9 ounces (or 225 grams), that can spray a minimum distance of 20 feet, and that has a minimum duration of at least six seconds. Read the directions carefully before your outing and keep the canister accessible at all times.

Dr. Thomas S. Smith, an Associate Professor of Wildlife Science at Brigham Young University, and his colleagues found that, while traditionally thought to be the best line of defense in a bear attack, a rifle simply doesn’t work as well as a canister of pepper spray. In their report in the Journal of Wildlife Management, Dr. Smith and his colleagues found that in encounters during the past three decades where humans have used the spray against black, brown, and polar bears, pepper spray stopped the bears’ “undesirable behavior” more than 90 percent of the time. Consequently, in not one of the incidents did any person suffer serious injury.

Because of fears that pepper spray wouldn’t sufficiently deter an attacking bear and could possibly not work in adverse weather conditions, hikers and wildlife officials alike have been skeptical of its use in the past. However, today’s larger pepper spray canisters, which have been designed to be carried in holsters and emit spray in a fashion similar to that of a fire extinguisher, are capable of blasting spray at more than 70 miles per hour and have been shown to reach bears even in the windiest conditions. Dr. Smith concurred that it’s a lot easier to aim a spray than to kill a bear with a rifle shot, citing that in a previous study of human-bear encounters rifles were only effective two-thirds of the time.

If your summer plans include a trip into the wilderness for either a day hike, picnic, or an extended camping trip, add a canister of pepper spray to your supplies for the ultimate measure of security.