{{Short description|Type of aerosol spray bear deterrent}} {{Use mdy dates|date=March 2021}} thumb|A bear spray dispenser
'''Bear spray''' is a specific aerosol spray bear deterrent, whose active ingredients are the potent irritant capsaicin and related capsaicinoids, that is used to deter aggressive or charging bears.<ref name=USGS /><ref name=Rogers1984>{{Cite journal |last=Rogers |first=Lynn L. |date=1984 |title=Reactions of free-ranging black bears to capsaicin spray |url=https://www.bearstudy.org/website/images/stories/Publications/Reactions_of_Free-Ranging_Black_Bears_to_Capsaicin_Spray_Repellant.pdf |journal=Wildl. Soc. Bull. |volume=12 |pages=59–61}}</ref>
==Use== thumb|alt=Renting bear spray is very popular and can be used for safety against bears. |A rental for bear spray [[File:Bear protection spray Banff.jpg|thumb|Bear protection spray for sale in Banff, Alberta]] The key active ingredients of bear spray are 1–2% capsaicin, and related capsaicinoids.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.sabrered.com/pepper-spray-frequently-asked-questions-0 |title=Pepper Spray: Frequently Asked Questions |website=Sabre}}</ref><ref name=":0">{{Cite web |title=How a Potent Pepper Spray Became the Best Bear Repellent |url=http://news.nationalgeographic.com/2015/09/150925-grizzly-bears-attacks-science-animals-bear-spray/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150927045522/http://news.nationalgeographic.com/2015/09/150925-grizzly-bears-attacks-science-animals-bear-spray/ |url-status=dead |archive-date=September 27, 2015 |website=National Geographic |access-date=2015-09-26 |first1=Todd |last1=Wilkinson}}</ref>
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 {{convert|1.5|to|3|meters}}.
===Effectiveness=== The efficacy of bear spray depends on the situation and circumstances of the attack. A 2008 review of bear attacks in Alaska from 1985 to 2006 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.<ref name="Alaska">{{cite journal |last=Smith |first=Tom S. |title=Efficacy of Bear Deterrent Spray in Alaska |journal=The Journal of Wildlife Management |year=2008 |volume=72 |issue=3 |pages=640–645 |url=http://wdfw.wa.gov/hunting/bear_cougar/bear/files/JWM_BearSprayAlaska.pdf |access-date=27 March 2012 |doi=10.2193/2006-452 |s2cid=24067944 |display-authors=etal |bibcode=2008JWMan..72..640S |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111226005837/http://wdfw.wa.gov/hunting/bear_cougar/bear/files/JWM_BearSprayAlaska.pdf |archive-date=26 December 2011 |url-status=dead}}</ref> 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."<ref name="Alaska" /> Latent spray (on an object) has also led to the attraction of bears, which usually ends up with the bear destroying the spray-covered object.<ref name="Alaska" />
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, though it emphasizes that the "...deterrent is [not] 100-percent effective."<ref name="USGS">{{cite web |last=Blome |first=Charles |title=Bear Spray Safety Program |url=https://pubs.usgs.gov/fs/2009/3018/pdf/FS09-3018.pdf |website=U.S. Geological Survey |access-date=27 March 2012}}</ref> 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."<ref name="BSvB">{{cite web |website=U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service |title=Bear Spray vs. Bullets |url=http://www.fws.gov/mountain-prairie/species/mammals/grizzly/bear%20spray.pdf |access-date=30 March 2012 |archive-date=October 25, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171025052401/https://www.fws.gov/mountain-prairie/species/mammals/grizzly/bear%20spray.pdf |url-status=dead }}</ref>
====Studies==== Studies suggest that bear spray may be effective at reducing the risk of injury or death. 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.<ref name=USGS />
A 2008 "Efficacy of Bear Deterrent Spray in Alaska" study stated:
* Red pepper spray stopped bears' undesirable behavior 92% of the time when used on brown bears, 90% for black bears, and 100% for polar bears. * Of all persons carrying sprays, 98% were uninjured by bears in close-range encounters. * All bear-inflicted injuries (n=3) associated with defensive spraying involved brown bears and were relatively minor (i.e., no hospitalization required). * In 7% (5 of 71) of bear spray incidents, wind was reported to have interfered with spray accuracy, although it reached the bear in all cases. * In 14% (10 of 71) of bear spray incidents, users reported that the spray had affected themselves, ranging from minor irritation (11% of incidents, 8 of 71) to near incapacitation (3%, 2 of 71). * Bear spray represents an effective alternative to lethal force and should be considered as an option for personal safety for those recreating and working in bear country.<ref name=Smith_2006>{{Cite journal |url=http://wdfw.wa.gov/hunting/bear_cougar/bear/files/JWM_BearSprayAlaska.pdf |title=Efficacy of Bear Deterrent Spray in Alaska |year=2008 |doi=10.2193/2006-452 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111226005837/http://wdfw.wa.gov/hunting/bear_cougar/bear/files/JWM_BearSprayAlaska.pdf |archive-date=2011-12-26 |url-status=dead |last1=Smith |first1=Tom S. |last2=Herrero |first2=Stephen |last3=Debruyn |first3=Terry D. |last4=Wilder |first4=James M. |journal=Journal of Wildlife Management |volume=72 |issue=3 |pages=640–645 |bibcode=2008JWMan..72..640S |s2cid=24067944}}</ref>
A 2022 study on bear spray efficacy in polar bear attacks showed that in incidents involving free-ranging polar bears from 1986 to 2019 in Canada, Russia, and the United States, the bear spray was an effective deterrent in close-range encounters, stopping undesirable behavior in 18 of 19 incidents. The study suggested that in 54 other analyzed polar bear attacks and attempted attacks on humans where bear spray was not carried, in 93% of those incidents, the use of bear spray might have saved the lives of both the people and bears involved if it had been available and deployed properly.<ref>{{cite journal | last1=Wilder | first1=James M. | last2=Mangipane | first2=Lindsey S. | last3=Atwood | first3=Todd | last4=Kochnev | first4=Anatoly | last5=Smith | first5=Tom | last6=Vongraven | first6=Dag | title=Efficacy of bear spray as a deterrent against polar bears | journal=Wildlife Society Bulletin | date=2023 | volume=47 | issue=1 | doi=10.1002/wsb.1403 | bibcode=2023WSBu...47.1403W | doi-access=free }}</ref>
The absolute risk from bears—even in grizzly (brown bear) country—is so low that bear spray cannot much decrease the 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,<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.nps.gov/articles/how-have-yellowstone-backpackers-changed.htm |title=How Have Yellowstone Backpackers Changed? |first1=Ray |last1=Darville |first2=Pat Stephens |last2=Williams |first3=Ryan |last3=Grisham |date=September 16, 2019 |website=National Park Service}}</ref> roughly half of whom (48 percent) do not carry bear spray.<ref>{{Cite journal |url=https://www.nps.gov/yell/learn/visitor-compliance-bear-spray-hiking-group-size.htm |title=Visitor Compliance with Bear Spray & Hiking Group Size in Yellowstone National Park |first1=Kerry A. |last1=Gunther |first2=Eric G. |last2=Reinertson |first3=Travis |last3=Wyman |first4=Dan |last4= Bergum |first5=Nathaniel R. |last5= Bowersock |first6=Amanda M. |last6= Bramblett |first7=Eric |last7= Johnston |first8=Jeremy |last8= Nicholson |journal=Yellowstone Science |volume=23 |number=2 |date=2015 |pages=41–43 |via=Yellowstone National Park (NPS)}}</ref>
===Human-on-human use=== Several Canadian police forces routinely deal with incidents of illegal use of bear spray against humans, including Edmonton,<ref>{{cite news |url=https://edmontonjournal.com/news/local-news/police-ask-city-to-restrict-bear-spray-in-edmonton |title=Police ask city to restrict bear spray in Edmonton |last=Boothby |first=Lauren |work=Edmonton Journal |date=2023-02-03 |access-date=2023-06-09}}</ref> Vancouver<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/bear-spray-involved-crimes-increase-vancouver-tightens-sale-rules-1.6794181 |title=As the number of bear spray-involved crimes increase, Vancouver tightens sale rules |last=Britten |first=Liam |work=CBC News |date=2023-03-28 |access-date=2023-06-09}}</ref> and Saskatoon.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/saskatchewan/saskaton-ex-bear-spray-concert-1.6551238 |title=Bear spray used at least 3 times at Saskatoon Ex |work=CBC News |date=2022-08-15 |access-date=2023-06-09}}</ref>
==History== Capsaicin bear spray was developed in the mid-1980s<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.bebearaware.org/Bear_Spray_Fact_Sheet_for_OWAA.docx |title=Bear Spray Fact Sheet |website=Be Bear Aware Campaign |access-date=25 June 2018}}</ref> under principal investigator Carrie Hunt, a University of Montana graduate student working under the supervision of Charles Jonkel and Bart O'Gara.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.hcn.org/articles/meet-the-man-who-changed-humans-relationship-with-bears |title=Meet the man who changed humans' relationship with bears |website=High Country News |date=April 27, 2016 |access-date=25 June 2018}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Bear Spray Works |url=http://bebearaware.org/Bear-Spray-Works-Short-&-Long-Reviewed%207-6-2016.ppsx |page=10 |website=The Be Bear Aware Campaign |access-date=30 June 2018}}</ref> Hunt had identified commercial pepper sprays as an effective deterrent for bears in previous research; however, they were unreliable<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.bebearaware.org/Publications/BS_2008_28PG_245.66KB.pdf |title=Interagency Grizzly Bear Committee Bear Spray Report June 2008 |website=Be Bear Aware Campaign |page=12 |access-date=25 June 2018}}</ref> and required close proximity. Hunt's thesis was published by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service in 1984.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://scholarworks.umt.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=8081&context=etd |title=Behavioral Responses of Bears to Tests of Repellents, Deterrents, and Aversive Conditioning |website=University of Montana |page=4 |access-date=25 June 2018}}</ref> 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 {{convert|30|ft|m|abbr=off|sp=us}} 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.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.bebearaware.org/Publications/BS_2008_28PG_245.66KB.pdf |title=Interagency Grizzly Bear Committee Bear Spray Report June 2008 |website=Be Bear Aware Campaign |page=13 |access-date=25 June 2018}}</ref>
==Legality== [[File:"A bear doesn’t care if you took its picture." (27145399592).jpg|thumb|A 2016 poster campaign promotes carrying bear spray in Yellowstone National Park.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://magicvalley.com/outdoors/yellowstone-launches-bear-spray-campaign/article_944f5be8-af87-5b97-9740-ce92e4c226af.html |title=Yellowstone Launches Bear Spray Campaign |date=June 1, 2016 |work=Times-News |location=Twin Falls, Idaho |access-date=October 4, 2019}}</ref>]] Bear spray is legal across the United States. It can be purchased even in Hawaii and New York where standard pepper sprays are illegal unless bought from certified firearms dealers or pharmacists.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.loyaldefender.com/pepper-spray-laws.html |title=Pepper Spray Laws |website=LoyalDefender.com |access-date=2014-04-09 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150102105813/http://www.loyaldefender.com/pepper-spray-laws.html |archive-date=January 2, 2015}}</ref> In Canada, while legal for use against bears, bear spray is prohibited if intended to be used against humans.<ref name=Rules>{{cite news |last1=Bell |first1=Danielle |title=Rules confusing around bear, pepper spray |url=http://www.ottawasun.com/2014/02/05/rules-confusing-around-bear-pepper-spray |access-date=12 November 2015 |work=Ottawa Sun |date=5 February 2014}}</ref>
Visitors to the backcountry areas of Glacier and Yellowstone National Parks are encouraged to carry it.<ref name=NPS_Bears>{{cite web |title=Bears - Glacier National Park |url=https://www.nps.gov/glac/planyourvisit/bears.htm |website=U.S. National Park Service}}</ref><ref name=ProperBearSpray>{{cite web |title=Selecting Proper Bear Spray |url=https://home.nps.gov/yell/learn/nature/bearspray.htm |website=Yellowstone National Park |publisher=U.S. National Park Service}}</ref><ref name=YOSEMITE>{{cite web |title=Yosemite National Park, California - Weapons/Firearms |url=https://www.nps.gov/yose/planyourvisit/weapons.htm |publisher=U.S. National Park Service |access-date=21 June 2013}}</ref> The Alaska Department of Natural Resources website advises those seeking protection to, at minimum, if not carrying a firearm, at least carry bear spray, saying: "This incapacitating spray teaches bears a lesson without permanently maiming them."<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://dnr.alaska.gov/parks/safety/bears.htm |title=Bear Safety |website=Alaska Department of Natural Resources}}</ref>
The capsaicin in products sold in the U.S. are regulated by the EPA, under the FIFRA act by Congress.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.bebearaware.org/BearSpray/bearspray.html |title=Bear Spray |website=Be Bear Aware Campaign}}</ref>
==See also== * Bear danger * Pepper spray {{-}}
==References== {{Reflist}}
Category:Bears Category:Bears and humans Category:Lachrymatory agents Category:Self-defense Category:Aerosol sprays