Bear spray is a specific aerosol spray bear deterrent, whose active ingredients are highly irritant capsaicin and related capsaicinoids, that is used to deter aggressive or charging bears. [1] [2]
Contents
Bear spray is a specific aerosol spray bear deterrent, whose active ingredients are highly irritant capsaicin and related capsaicinoids, that is used to deter aggressive or charging bears. [1] [2]
Capsaicin bear spray was developed in the mid-1980s [3] under principal investigator Carrie Hunt, a University of Montana graduate student working under the supervision of Charles Jonkel and Bart O'Gara. [4] [5] Hunt had identified commercial pepper sprays as an effective deterrent for bears in previous research; however, they were unreliable [6] and required close proximity. Hunt's thesis was published by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service in 1984. [7] Bill Pounds, who eventually founded Counter Assault bear spray, assisted Hunt and offered to help devise a prototype for a reliable aerosol bear spray canister for Hunt's research. They developed a bear spray formula with a spray range of over 30 feet (9.1 meters) and a spray time of over 7 seconds. Pounds played an important part in developing the ingredients, the dispersal system, and the recommended specifications of bear spray. [8] The product produced by the company he founded, Counter Assault, became the first Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)-registered aerosol bear spray.
The key active ingredients of bear spray are 1–2% capsaicin, and related capsaicinoids. [9] [10]
Bear spray is intended to deter an aggressive or charging bear; a user points the canister at an aggressive bear and sprays the contents for 2–3 seconds. The maximum range of sprays by different manufacturers varies, but they are reported to be effective when sprayed at a charging or aggressive bear from a distance of 1.5 to 3 meters (4 ft 11 in to 9 ft 10 in).
Bear spray is a very effective deterrent when used properly. In a 2008 review of bear attacks in Alaska from 1985 to 2006, Smith et al. found that bear spray stopped a bear's "undesirable behavior" in 92% of cases. Further, 98% of persons using bear spray in close-range encounters escaped uninjured. [11]
The efficacy of bear spray depends on the situation and circumstances of the attack. In the 2008 study, Tom Smith of Brigham Young University reported, "No bear spray has ever been reported to kill a bear. It is our belief that widespread use of bear spray will promote human safety and bear conservation." [11] On the other hand, latent spray (on an object) has also led to the attraction of bears, which usually end up with the bear destroying the spray-covered object. [11]
A United States Geological Survey article, "Bear Spray Safety Program," says that bear spray is effective in fending off aggressive bears while also preventing injury to both the human and the bear. It also states, "No deterrent is 100-percent effective." [1] In "Living with Grizzlies," the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service states, "The Service supports the pepper spray policy of the Interagency Grizzly Bear Committee, which states that bear spray is not a substitute for following proper bear avoidance safety techniques, and that bear spray should be used as a deterrent only in an aggressive or attacking confrontation with a bear." [12]
Studies suggest that bear spray is effective at reducing the risk of injury or death in these situations. While bear spray can be effective, authorities stress that proper bear-awareness and avoidance techniques are the best ways to minimize injuries due to human–bear conflict. [1]
A 2008 "Efficacy of Bear Deterrent Spray in Alaska" study stated:
The absolute risk from bears—even in grizzly (brown bear) country—is so low that bear spray cannot much decrease that risk. Bears are known to fatally attack only a relatively small number of backpackers in North America every decade, out of many millions—for instance, about 45,000 backcountry backpackers camp overnight in Yellowstone per year, [14] roughly half of whom (48 percent) do not carry bear spray. [15]
Bear spray is legal across the United States. It can be purchased even in Hawaii, New York, or Massachusetts, where standard pepper sprays are illegal unless bought locally by certified firearms dealers or pharmacists. [17] In Canada, while legal for use against bears, bear spray is a prohibited weapon if intended to be used against humans. [18]
While bear spray is illegal in some U.S. National Parks, visitors to the backcountry areas of Glacier and Yellowstone National Parks are encouraged to carry it. [19] [20] [21] The Alaska Department of Natural Resources website says: "Most people who hike in Alaska's wilderness don't carry a weapon. They know that the best defense is common sense. Traveling and camping carefully are all that they need." They advise those seeking greater protection to opt for bear spray, saying: "This incapacitating spray teaches bears a lesson without permanently maiming them." [22]
Bear sprays are considered a pesticide in the U.S. and must be registered with the EPA. The capsaicin in products sold in the U.S. are regulated by the EPA, under the FIFRA act by Congress. [23]
News outlets reported that bear spray was used during the January 6 United States Capitol attack in Washington D.C. against Brian Sicknick, a police officer who died. [24] [ dubious ] Washington DC's medical examiner determined that Sicknick died of "natural causes – specifically, a series of strokes." But the examiner emphasized that "all that transpired on [January 6] played a role in his condition". [24]
Several Canadian police forces routinely deal with incidents of illegal use of bear spray against humans, including Edmonton, [25] Vancouver [26] and Saskatoon. [27]
The brown bear is a large bear species found across Eurasia and North America. It is one of the largest living terrestrial members of the order Carnivora, rivaled in size only by its closest relative, the polar bear, which is much less variable in size and slightly bigger on average. The brown bear's range includes parts of Russia, Central Asia, the Himalayas, China, Canada, the United States, Hokkaido, Scandinavia, Finland, the Balkans, the Picos de Europa and the Carpathian region, Iran, Anatolia, and the Caucasus. The brown bear is recognized as a national and state animal in several European countries. In North America, the populations of brown bears are called grizzly bears, while the subspecies that inhabits the Kodiak Islands of Alaska is known as the Kodiak bear.
Yellowstone National Park is a national park located in the western United States, largely in the northwest corner of Wyoming and extending into Montana and Idaho. It was established by the 42nd U.S. Congress with the Yellowstone National Park Protection Act and signed into law by President Ulysses S. Grant on March 1, 1872. Yellowstone was the first national park in the U.S. and is also widely held to be the first national park in the world. The park is known for its wildlife and its many geothermal features, especially the Old Faithful geyser, one of its most popular. While it represents many types of biomes, the subalpine forest is the most abundant. It is part of the South Central Rockies forests ecoregion.
The Scoville scale is a measurement of pungency of chili peppers and other substances, recorded in Scoville heat units (SHU). It is based on the concentration of capsaicinoids, among which capsaicin is the predominant component.
Capsaicin (8-methyl-N-vanillyl-6-nonenamide) is an active component of chili peppers, which are plants belonging to the genus Capsicum. It is a chemical irritant and neurotoxin for mammals, including humans, and produces a sensation of burning in any tissue with which it comes into contact. Capsaicin and several related amides (capsaicinoids) are produced as secondary metabolites by chili peppers, probably as deterrents against certain mammals and fungi. Pure capsaicin is a hydrophobic, colorless, highly pungent, crystalline solid.
Pepper spray, oleoresin capsicum spray, OC spray, capsaicin spray, or capsicum spray is a lachrymator product containing the compound capsaicin as the active ingredient that irritates the eyes to cause burning and pain sensations, and temporary blindness. Pepper spray is used as a less lethal weapon in policing, riot control, crowd control, and self-defense, including defense against dogs and bears. Its inflammatory effects cause the eyes to close, temporarily taking away vision. This temporary blindness allows officers to more easily restrain subjects and permits people in danger to use pepper spray in self-defense for an opportunity to escape. It also causes temporary discomfort and burning of the lungs which causes shortness of breath.
Riot control measures are used by law enforcement, military, paramilitary or security forces to control, disperse, and arrest people who are involved in a riot, unlawful demonstration or unlawful protest.
Timothy Treadwell was an American bear enthusiast, environmentalist, documentary filmmaker, and founder of the bear-protection organization Grizzly People. He lived among coastal brown bears in Katmai National Park, Alaska, for 13 summers.
Bridger–Teton National Forest is located in western Wyoming, United States. The forest consists of 3.4 million acres, making it the third largest National Forest outside Alaska. The forest stretches from Yellowstone National Park, along the eastern boundary of Grand Teton National Park and from there rides along the western slope of the Continental Divide to the southern end of the Wind River Range. The forest also extends southward encompassing the Salt River Range and Wyoming Range mountains near the Idaho border.
Caribou–Targhee National Forest is located in the states of Idaho and Wyoming, with a small section in Utah in the United States. The forest is broken into several separate sections and extends over 2.63 million acres (10,600 km2). To the east the forest borders Yellowstone National Park, Grand Teton National Park and Bridger–Teton National Forest. Most of the forest is a part of the 20-million-acre (81,000 km2) Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem.
Bear-resistant food storage containers, also called bear canisters or bear cans, are usually hard-sided containers used by backpackers to protect their food from theft by bears. Bear canisters are seeing increased popularity in areas where bears have become habituated to human presence, and are required in some places, such as Yosemite National Park in the United States.
Bear danger is the risk encountered by humans and their pets or livestock when interacting with bears.
A bear attack is an attack by a bear on another animal, although it usually refers to a bear attacking a human or domestic pet. Bear attacks are of particular concern for those who are in bear habitats. They can be fatal and often hikers, hunters, fishers, and others in bear country take precautions against bear attacks.
The grizzly bear, also known as the North American brown bear or simply grizzly, is a population or subspecies of the brown bear inhabiting North America.
Douglas H. Chadwick is an American wildlife biologist, author, photographer and frequent National Geographic contributor. He is the author of fourteen books and more than 200 articles on wildlife and wild places.
The ghost pepper, also known as bhut jolokia, is an interspecific hybrid chili pepper cultivated in Northeast India. It is a hybrid of Capsicum chinense and Capsicum frutescens.
Thomas D. Mangelsen is an American nature and wildlife photographer and conservationist. He is most famous for his photography of wildlife in the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem, as he has lived inside the zone in Jackson, Wyoming, for over 40 years. In 2015, he and nature author Todd Wilkinson created a book, The Grizzlies of Pilgrim Creek, featuring a grizzly bear known as Grizzly 399, named so due to her research number. He has been active in the movement to keep the Yellowstone area grizzly bears on the Endangered Species List. Mangelsen is also known for trekking to all seven continents to photograph a diverse assortment of nature and wildlife. A photograph he took in 1988 titled, "Catch of the Day" has been labeled "the most famous wildlife photograph in the world". In May 2018, he was profiled on CBS 60 Minutes. He has received dozens of accolades throughout the decades.
Grizzly 399 is a grizzly bear inhabiting Grand Teton National Park and Bridger-Teton National Forest. She is followed by as many as 40 wildlife photographers, and millions of tourists come to the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem to see her and the other grizzly bears. Grizzly 399 is the most famous brown bear mother in the world, with her own Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram accounts.
Formerly or currently considered subspecies or populations of brown bears have been listed as follows: