Bear Spray For Grizzly Attacks Works Better Than Firearms, Study Says

MISSOULA, Mont. (AP) — A bear expert says a study has found that people using bear spray during grizzly bear encounters are injured far less often than people using firearms.

University of Calgary's Steve Herrero tells the Missoulian (http://bit.ly/H6HJYj) that 98 percent of those who used bear spray walked away unharmed, and no people or bears died.

He says 56 percent of those who used firearms were injured, and 61 percent of the bears died.

The firearms study involved 269 incidents with 444 hunters. The bear spray study had 72 incidents with 175 people, though some of those might have been less dangerous encounters.

Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks bear manager Mike Madel says the results are pretty persuasive.

The information was presented last week at the Fourth International Human-Bear Conflict Workshop in Missoula.

Comments

[mallard1970]

02:04 PM on 04/01/2012

Humans act as if the animals should bow down to them and be grateful we give them a postage stamp to live on...treating them unjustly because they "get in someones way"..when in most cases we are intruding on them.. Animals hunt because they are hungry etc...humans hunt for sport to have Bambies head on their wall. It's interesting to think how there are humans that act worse than any given animals...the prisons are filled with them. I agree with rdpuck..that deadly force should only BE USED AS A LAST RESORT..LIFE OR DEATH. I would rather use the bear spray over a gun though...I am going to read more about the spray.. :-)

[gulopartisan]

01:11 PM on 04/01/2012

Well, duh. When Lewis & CLark met their first grizzley, the guys shot it some 40 times without killing it. If you are taking a gun with you to protect you from being killed by a bear, you only need one bullet.

[rdpuck]

01:14 PM on 03/28/2012

This is about the bears, we have intruded on there space more and more. I am an NRA member. I think caring a fire arm in the deep woods makes sense. I also think a can of pepper spray is good denfense against different animals. Deadly force should only be used as a last resort. The rule applies with me for humans. So there fore I think it should be applied to wild life as well.

[bdoug25000]

09:14 PM on 03/27/2012

When I go to bear country I always make sure I am with someone who can't run as fast as me.

[Debra Reece Simons]

10:03 PM on 03/27/2012

you can't outrun a bear no matter

[bdoug25000]

10:48 PM on 03/27/2012

But I can outrun the person I'm with, get it? No, probably not...

[nothingchanges]

11:17 AM on 03/27/2012

The effective range of "pepper spray" is about 6-8 yards, and the canisters I've seen don't last long.

Not sure I would have the presence of mind to "hold my fire till I see the whites of their eyes"

Personal opinion, I've been up close and personal (closer than I would choose actually) with Black bears on numerous occasions (never a Grizzly), talking to them seems to work quite effectively in the situations I've been in. I confess I did carry a small pistol, but only as a noise maker, never needed to use it, and certainly would never shoot a bear with it.

I suspect if one were to carry a radio playing modern music while in the back country, you'd never even see a bear up close.

Unless they've gotten used to getting food (intentionally or otherwise) by man, they seem to be quite content in having absolutely nothing to do with us.

Smart animals, bears.

[Roshi98]

10:55 AM on 03/27/2012

Another good practice is to travel with at least one other companion. My ex-brother-in-law discovered this first hand last year in Idaho. They were just heading out on a hunting trip (elk - don't worry, he's one of the good hunters, uses every part, only kills what he and his family need to live on) when they stumbled on a grizzly bear's sleeping area. From out of the bushes the bear charged and Rich didn't even have time to pull out his bear spray. Luckily, his friend was about 10 yards away and he used the deterrent forcing the bear to retreat.

Rich lost his left ring finger and has permanent nerve damage in that arm, as well getting some really deep lacerations, but he survived. As a fishing and hunting guide this no doubt will increase his business and cache, but the moral of the story is NEVER go into bear country alone.

[doriath22]

06:27 AM on 03/27/2012

Large (M-80) firecrackers work even better, and you don't have to actually hit the bear.

[JoeTheProgrammer]

07:30 AM on 03/27/2012

LOL. You gonna stand there and try to light one while a bear is charging?

[doriath22]

08:06 AM on 03/27/2012

Unless you get in between a mother and her cubs (in which case you're screwed no matter what), bears don't just "charge"

[snewell]

11:24 PM on 03/26/2012

THIS IS REALLY GREAT NEWS FOR CAMPERS AND FOR BEARS!!

[hazbro24]

10:21 PM on 03/26/2012

Really low sample size. And the spray requires certain parameters to be effective; like close proximity or low to no wind. It would be best to have both options on hand, or just avoid bear country all together.

[jbdrs]

12:34 AM on 03/27/2012

"The firearms study involved 269 incidents with 444 hunters."

Low sample size? How many encounters do you think there are between grizzly bears and hunters? Newflash: There aren't that many grizzly bears left because of hunters killing so many of them almost to extinction.

"98 percent of those who used bear spray walked away unharmed, and no people or bears died."

"He says 56 percent of those who used firearms were injured, and 61 percent of the bears died."

That is not a low sample size at all and the results speak for themselves.

[TheStreak]

08:54 PM on 03/26/2012

What the heck is "bear spray"????

[Spiggy]

11:34 PM on 03/26/2012

pepper spray

[Priestess of Ryleh]

02:23 AM on 03/27/2012

"pepper spray" in a high powered aerosol can... they typically have a range of 15-30 feet, with wind conditions being a small factor in aiming... i always carry one with me when i go hiking or walking...

small bit of irony, human pepper spray is actually a much higher concentration of the active ingredient... so much so that it is harmful to the bear, thankfully we have much less sensative noses and eyes.

[rlmyrtlb]

08:52 PM on 03/26/2012

Some of the best news have heard in a long time. We watched the Bear Man of Kamchatka (Canadian saving grizzlys) and he sprayed a bear intent on molesting two cubs Charlie was walking with! Man, did that grizzly run!

[satyrday]

02:48 PM on 03/26/2012

Can somebody please invent a Republican-Candidate spray? They are getting quite annoying.

[nh3man]

05:00 PM on 03/26/2012

Easy now. If all the Republicans disappeared the Democrats would start fighting amongst themselves again.....Oh, I forgot, Democrats can do that while the Republicans are attacking them.

[DenverBigDaddy]

08:42 PM on 03/26/2012

I could see that. When they consistently prove the Dems to know/do nothing other than spend money on virtually anything/everything, I'm sure that gets annoying.

[satyrday]

09:24 PM on 03/26/2012

Your post/rant makes absolutely/completely no sense/valid points.

[Counterglow]

12:05 AM on 03/28/2012

Republican administrations have outspent Democratic ones by a large margin. Get your facts straight.

"Economist Mike Kimel notes that the five former Democratic Presidents (Bill Clinton, Jimmy Carter, Lyndon B. Johnson, John F. Kennedy, and Harry S. Truman) all reduced public debt as a share of GDP, while the last four Republican Presidents (George W. Bush, George H. W. Bush, Ronald Reagan, and Gerald Ford) all oversaw an increase in the country’s indebtedness.[18] Economic historian J. Bradford DeLong, former Clinton Treasury Department official, observes a contrast not so much between Republicans and Democrats, but between Democrats and "old-style Republicans (Eisenhower and Nixon)" on one hand (decreasing debt), and "new-style Republicans" on the other (increasing debt)."

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_the_United_States_public_debt