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Nonlethal Defense Against Animals In all the time I've spent backpacking and camping in bear and lion country or jogging through city suburbs patrolled by neighborhood dogs, I've never been attacked by anything. I've been threatened frequently, mostly by dogs but nearly as often by cottonmouths defending territories and skunks just being ornery. Some animals just think they own the world--the reason you see so many dead skunks on the highway is that they don't yield to anybody, not even cars. |
Black Bear Defense |
Let them know you're coming -- most black bears will get out of your way. Don't sneak through the woods in bear country. Talk, whistle, and invest in a hiking bell for your backpack. Be aware of your surroundings -- with black bears the worst trouble you can make is blundering into the vicinity of a sow with cubs to protect. She will. If you see cuddly cubs all alone in the woods, back away quickly. Mama Bear is close at hand. If you're threatened by a black bear you can bluff. Yell, bluster and stand tall. If you have something to throw, throw it. If you miss, that doesn't help your cause. If you run, you'll encourage the bear to chase you. If you climb a tree, you'd better climb fast and far. Black bears are excellent tree climbers and if you can climb it, they can climb it better. Don't play dead -- if you try this with a black bear, it may eat you. Fight with your bare hands if you have nothing else. When camping in black bear country, keep your food away from camp. Hang it from a high limb suspended out of reach from either below or above. Don't leave food in your car--not even a candy bar on the seat. Bears have learned how to open cars and they will totally trash your vehicle looking for that Milky Way smell. |
Grizzly Defense |
Don't intrude into the bear's area. Most grizzly attacks are territorial. Grizzlies don't usually back down. Fighting off a grizzly with a primitive weapon successfully is very rare. An old Indian story relates how one warrior kept dodging round a tree and whacking at the grizzly's legs with his war club, finally breaking enough of the bear's bones that he could finish him off. That doesn't happen often. More recently a fellow hiking in Yellowstone jumped on a grizzly's back when it attacked his hiking partner, and stabbed it in the neck with a large Bowie knife. The bear jerked back with enough power to snap the man's wrist and proceeded to make a mess of him. He lived, but was terribly injured. His friend did the right thing, laid down in the trail and played dead, and went for help when the bear left. Grizzlies aren't so interested in people as food. When they think you're finished, they'll cover you with brush and leave. Bear repellent pepper spray is more effective against bear attacks than guns. The success rate if used properly is nearly one hundred percent. If the bear does get through it, it will leave sooner. Lie face down and try to prevent being rolled over. Let your gear take the damage if possible. |
Defending yourself against an animal attack usually isn't part of our daily planning. This country has been settled for a long time now, and any aggressive wildlife populations were intentionally driven to extinction, or nearly so. Unless you're planning a trip through Yellowstone or the Alaskan wilderness you aren't likely to encounter grizzlies. Black bear are making a comeback, systemically being re-established in many national parks and now wandering beyond those boundaries again. A century ago, wilderness areas hadn't been quite so decimated by clearcutting--wildlife populations were heavily hunted through the bounty program and individuals knew that people were trouble. Today people live in housing developments that until recently were pristine woodlands. Hiking trails that took me |
Coyotes, black bears and mountain lions have all been changing their opinions of human beings in recent years. Bears break into people's houses to raid refrigerators, coyotes look at little dogs on leashes as tasty and poorly defended snacks, and mountain lions look at us in that same curious and hungry way. In these crowded modern times, we're all crossing paths more often, even if you don't hit the back country trails. Most attacks are about food. We usually have some, and if we get in the way of animals interested in our provisions we become competitive targets. Where bears are concerned, defense of young is a primary trigger as well. Being in the wrong place, storing our food in an unsafe manner, and thinking of wild animals as big fluffy friends posing for photography can all be reasons for confrontations. Good habits and thinking ahead about problems will usually be enough to stop trouble before it happens, but if things do go wrong, being undefended is the wrong way to deal with the situation. Bluffing, throwing sticks and stones and yelling is not always enough to deal with the new generation of curious predators looking for food and territory. They may have no experience with human beings that marks us as dangerous. Simple weapons allow us to teach important lessons without causing harm. Many types are available, some effective and some not. Skunk in a Can: Pepper Spray Bear Repellant The single most effective new defense is pepper spray. Powerful enough to repel grizzly bears who've already made up their minds to attack, the specially formulated aerosol fogs are nonlethal, environmentally safe, and stop nearly 100 percent of bear attacks if properly deployed. Instead of an aimed stream, bear repellant is applied with a short horizontal burst, creating a visible cloud of pepper concentrate that's hard to miss and impossible to breathe. If it's strong enough to stop a bear, I'd have confidence it would work against nearly anything. Survival Staff On the trail an eyebrow height staff still makes good sense. I've written an article already about why I like this idea. A staff used with some skill is enough for discouraging most animals. Ground slaps and horizontal sweeps are some of the best blustering moves. Jabs have the most effect on something that's getting too close. A good staff is light enough to wield quickly and heavy enough to deliver a solid impact. Survival Spear Although a staff with a good blade on the end may seem more effective, in most situations it's too much solution. Some survival staff concepts incorporate hidden blades, illegal in most states. A few require disassembly and reassembly before the blade is usable, too slow for emergency needs. While a bop on a sensitive nose may encourage an animal to reconsider, stabbing one can trigger other instincts. Survival Knife Knives are much more tool than weapon, but they are still the only primitive weapon you can use effectively in close quarters, like inside a tent. You will want to keep your pepper spray at hand, but I'd be uncertain about using it in a confined space against anything less than a bear. |
miles from anyplace forty years ago would now lead me through backyards and houses. Concern for our endangered wildlife has resulted in a growing population of animal neighbors hard pressed to find a place to live. Individuals aren't so scared of people now that we don't shoot them on sight. |
Food Storage Containers now available offer bear-proof storage in portable form, with sizes appropriate for individual hikers as well as car based camping. In heavily bear populated areas this gear can be mandatory, and food storage lockers may be provided at trailheads and campgrounds. |
Bear Repellant spray canisters such as CounterAssault, with approximately a 7.5 second load and a 32 foot range, now provide excellent protection against multiple animals and repeated attacks. These are not the stream canisters designed for personal defense against humans. Bear repellant creates a thick aerosol fog, and if a bear charges through it, the spray penetrates eyes, nose, and lungs. The look of the cloud is often enough to stop a bear, and the spray itself is definitely effective. Nearly 100 percent of bear attacks are repelled by the pepper spray; even accurate gunfire only stops fifty percent of bear attacks. Nothing's perfect, and if the bear's upwind some of that cloud will hit you as well. |
Bear Bells Pro and Con One of the folk remedies for bear attack prevention has always been this low cost and potentially annoying noisemaker. Attach a couple of cheap jingle bells to your backpack so you jingle and jangle with every step. Bears will know you're coming and get out of your way. That's one way of looking at it. Many people think that such a harmless noise could attract bears, or at least give them a heads-up when you enter their territory. There's nothing threatening about a tambourine. In practice, there's usually enough rattling around in my backpack that I sound like a pots and pans drummer anyway. I like the idea of noise as a deterrent, but I think it requires more noise than that to make an impression. If you depend on noise as an option, get a boathorn. Not one of those little personal protection horns, a boathorn. Make a noise like a semi truck. |
Defense Against Bears |
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