Bear spray-necessary?

[tdoczi]

A bear is charging you. Quick, is a small dark grizzly or large pale black bear?

My answer: Holy feces, a bear!

a) if you cant quickly tell the difference you shouldnt be out hiking in grizzly country

b) ive heard people express a specific fear of black bears. playing it safe and assuming all bears are grizzlies if youre unsure i can understand. thinking black bears are inherently as aggressive as grizzlies is just incorrect.

[tdoczi]

They have slightly different behaviors. A grizzly will often attack but break it off and stop and not kill if a victim covers up and plays dead. If a black bear attacks you it is generally going to kill you and eat you, so you better damn well fight for your life. Yeah, most of the time black bears run off, but that doesn't mean you should lose respect for what they can do.

perhaps, but i'm not willing to recommend anyone taking their respect to the point fo special ordering bear spray to carry with them. i mean seriously, where can you even buy this stuff on the east coast? i tried to when i was going to glacier, figured it would be cheaper than getting it there. i couldnt find it anywhere.

[SmokyMtn Hiker]

Never even considered it or thought about it. The chance of being that close to Black Bear around here is very slim, except maybe in the GSMNP, most see humans and retreat the other way.

[Harrison Bergeron]

If all of the above good advice for avoiding a bear attack fails and you turn out to be the one in a million actually attacked by the bear you saw -- a 1oz tube of pepper spray intended as a dog deterent has been tested and proven effective against black bear attack.

http://www.bear.org/website/index.ph...=62&Itemid=123

Bears have a 20X better sense of smell than dogs, so pepper spray very effective on them. Personally, I prefer the option of defending myself to plan B -- roll into a fetal ball, and hope the bear doesn't rip open a major artery while he's mauling you.

But the real reason I intend to carry a pepper spray on my hike next year is not for bears. It's for the dangerous animals that I'm far more likely to encounter while hitchhiking into town.

[leaftye]

a) if you cant quickly tell the difference you shouldnt be out hiking in grizzly country

And you can do this in that situation?

b) ive heard people express a specific fear of black bears. playing it safe and assuming all bears are grizzlies if youre unsure i can understand. thinking black bears are inherently as aggressive as grizzlies is just incorrect.

That's part of the reason for my earlier response. Instead of wasting time to try to correctly identify the bear, plan an appropriate response that can be applied to both types.

[DavidNH]

No one needs bear spray on the AT. You don't need it.

The main defense against potential bear attacks is good ol common sense.

[tdoczi]

And you can do this in that situation?



That's part of the reason for my earlier response. Instead of wasting time to try to correctly identify the bear, plan an appropriate response that can be applied to both types.

i cant say ive ever been in that situation, but i can tell a grizzly from a black bear in ways that have nothing to do with its color. and if a bear is charging me i'd probably guess grizzly anyway, just based on behavior.

and i'm all for spraying any charging bear without regard to what color it is. what i'm not for is being uneducated and freaking out if you see what is clearly a black bear standing around doing nothing the least bit aggressive towards you just because you have a fear (perhaps justified, a different topic) of grizzlies.

a local i met in glacier put it to me best, i work in NYC, thats far more dangerous than hiking in grizzly country.

[leaftye]

I'm with you on not using color alone. That's why I switched up the colors in my example. Checking other features works, although I usually don't wear my eyeglasses while hiking. As you said, spray a charging bear. It works with both types. It's not about being uneducated, but about having a simple solution to act on when your brain may not want to work.

[tdoczi]

I'm with you on not using color alone. That's why I switched up the colors in my example. Checking other features works, although I usually don't wear my eyeglasses while hiking. As you said, spray a charging bear. It works with both types. It's not about being uneducated, but about having a simple solution to act on when your brain may not want to work.

its also worth pointing out that the procedure for a charging grizzly after releasing the pepper spray is to hit the ground and curl up in a ball. as someone has rightly pointed out, this is a horrible idea on the off chance a black bear takes a run at you.

my points are this- you dont need to bear spray when theres no grizzlies around, which is why they dont even bother selling it in places that dont have grizzlies. and people shouldnt be paranoid about black bears because of what grizzly bears can do.

its also worth noting that accidents with pepper spray are far more common than bear attacks. and from what ive heard it is NOT something you want on if you arent near a very strong source of running water with which to rinse it off. frankly, knowing what i know now i wouldnt even bother buying a new bear spray, even in grizzly country. i'll carry the one i have until i loose it or it expires, after that i'm done. i'm kidding myself to think i'd even do a good job of spraying the stuff if a bear even did charge me. most likely i'd end up being eaten while in burning agony from having pepper spray all over me.

[leaftye]

I, like most others here, hike in black bear country. I totally agree not to bother with bear spray for black bears. That's why I said if I did carry it, it'd be for dogs. Ill tempered unleashed dogs and their owners concern me more than black bears.

Yeah, I'd probably be a smelly mess after a bear charge. It wouldn't all be pepper spray...

[BAG "o" TRICKS]

How many of you consider bear spray to be a necessary part of your pack and how many think it weighs too much to bother with.

Thanks.

A

I'm asked so many times by my city dwelling friends who never go out into the deep woods, "aren't you afraid of bears"? My answer to them is "nope, buy I sure respect them." I tell them that I fear the tick and mosquito more as they can and have put a hurtin' on many hikers with Lyme Disease and West Nile Virus. I have ever had a problem with bears and have seen quite a few up close while walking in the woods mainly in Smokies, Shennies, and NJ. You ask any avid hikers out there and they'll probably tell you the same. I haven't seen or met any experienced AT thru-hikers carrying the stuff but have seen plenty of weekend warrior cotton campers with it. I wouldn't carry bear spray on AT but I may consider 'possibly' carrying it in well-established grizzly areas, in certain situations. For the AT I feel it is a waste of money and usually weighs too much, but again, that's your choice, whatever makes you feel safe. If you have a bear in close enough to use spray you may already be in trouble and if you do spray him you may just irritate him more. Instead of bear spray to help protect yourself I feel it is more important to learn the do's and don’t of living among wildlife 'before' heading out into their home.

[weasel and bunny]

Hikers should know what type bear habitat in which they are hiking. Hikers are encouraged to wear small bells and carry bear spray.
They should also know different bear signs, ie. bedding areas, tracks, scat. Black bear scat can be found in small piles and will contain berries, nuts and fur from prey species. Grizzly bear scat is found in larger piles, contains more meat products, contains small bells and smells of bear spray. :-)

[tdoczi]

Hikers should know what type bear habitat in which they are hiking. Hikers are encouraged to wear small bells and carry bear spray.
They should also know different bear signs, ie. bedding areas, tracks, scat. Black bear scat can be found in small piles and will contain berries, nuts and fur from prey species. Grizzly bear scat is found in larger piles, contains more meat products, contains small bells and smells of bear spray. :-)

actually anyone i ever met in grizzly country who seemed to have experience and know what they were talking about was of the opinion that bear bells didnt do anything except annoy yourself and other hikers. they just arent loud enough and most people wear them on their backs, making it even less likely a grizzly thats in front of you will hear it while youre still far enough away for it to matter. a bear hearing a bell ring on a person thats 20 feet away doesnt do you any good.

[MkBibble]

I have been lucky enough to see bears 3 of my last 4 trips to the AT/near the AT (N. Georgia, SNP, GSMNP). About all I saw was thier back ends, and even though I had a camera handy every time, they were gone so fast that I only managed one really bad picture.

These bears have no interest in being around humans, and they are gone SO fast.

[Many Walks]

actually anyone i ever met in grizzly country who seemed to have experience and know what they were talking about was of the opinion that bear bells didnt do anything except annoy yourself and other hikers. they just arent loud enough and most people wear them on their backs, making it even less likely a grizzly thats in front of you will hear it while youre still far enough away for it to matter. a bear hearing a bell ring on a person thats 20 feet away doesnt do you any good.

I think it was a joke.

[Hooch]

I'll aree with a few things that have already been posted here. First, on the AT bear spray is totally unnecessary. Second, if it makes you feel better, take it. However, you really don't need it. Third, your best defense against bears is good old fashioned common sense.

[chiefiepoo]

Agree with those who see no need for bear spray in the Eastern US. I never take it along and I do own a few cans of "Counter Assault" pepper spray for Glacier and Yellowstone back country trips. Spray is $50.00 in most places out west. Buy it and take it with you if you are going in the back country. See the training video before heading out. It is somewhat more than point and shoot.

Better yet, go with some knowledge as your first line of defense. Find and read a copy " Hiking with Grizzlies" written by Tim Rubbert. He has over 20 years of Griz / Black bear research with his brother and claims 1,500 bear sightings. My take away is, that your personal response strategy determines the outcome of most bear encounters. See his info here;

http://www.grizzlybrothers.com/HIKINGwithGRIZZLIES.htm

[SMSP]

I pulled out my bear spray but talked him into going around me without using it.

Where do I learn bear-talk?

SMSP

[sheepdog]

Where do I learn bear-talk?

SMSP

I can give you lessons for only three easy payments of $19.95


basically I just stood tall and said "hey bear, hey bear" he stopped, gave me some great pictures, and went around me. The dipsticks hiking about 200 yards behind me totally disrespected this bear and it mock charged them about 3 times and held the trail. It made them hike around him. I guess it was pretty scary for them and a good learning experience.

[c4jc88]

Hiking in Kodiak Alaska I carry bear spray and a 44. Hiking in Valdez AK I carry bear spray because there are black bears everywhere.. I have never carried bear spray on the AT. If I did it wouldn't be for the bears it would be for the homeless people that take up residence in the shelters...