Some have heard that bear spray actually attracts bears?
Who would want to use something that does that?
I was under the impression that no mammal except humans like and love Chili Peppers in spite of its fiery nature. Just the day before , I posted something on these lines about Elephant's dislike for peppr smell.
I may be wrong about "All Mammals" . I was watching a documentry about Alaska today morning when a scientist was seen preparing his pepper spray canister to ward off bears. On researching more on line, I discovered a first person account by a knowledgable Bearologist (If I can call Tom Smith a scientist stationed at Anchorage Alsaka.) which informs a dummy like me that Bears actually were seen wallowing in the Hot pepper sprayed part of the earth even after five days.!! Is it because they associate heat of Hot peppers with the female heat or do they increase their chances of mating with the Pepper perfume?
We may never know the truth.
How touching !! (Pun Intended). Read a complete account here by Dr. Tom Smith PhD
Q: Who would want to use pepper spray if it attracts bears?
A: I published a paper in 1998 in the Wildlife Society Bulletin (Vol. 26: 92-94) demonstrating that some Alaskan brown bears (Ursus arctos horribilis) were attracted to bear pepper spray residues. I decided to conduct this work after I’d observed a bear vigorously rolling in pepper spray residues put down by a person who had hoped that the spray would repel bears from his floatplane tied to the beach. It hadn’t worked and his neoprene float covers were damaged. Now here I was watching a bear vigorously scent rub in the orangish stain on the beach. “What if this stuff actually attracted bears?” I began to worry, but not whether or not the spray worked as a bear deterrent but rather regarding their interest in residues on objects regardless of how they got there. I reflected on the fact that only days before I had shown a new field assistant how to use pepper spray... by discharging it just outside my field camp perimeter. It never occurred to me that the residue might prove troublesome. What if this residue actually attracted bears? Considering this further, I knew of people who had applied pepper spray to objects in the hopes of repelling bears from them. I even knew of a PhD bear research scientist who lectured on bear safety and had suggested that spray could be used in this manner to protect items that couldn’t be otherwise protected from curious bears. I felt I needed to further investigate because property and people could possibly be injured by this misuse of the product.
For this research I sprayed red pepper spray directly onto the ground then sat back and observed bears' reactions to it. Many bears were clearly attracted to spray residues, some vigorously head rubbing, back rolling, pawing and eating the soils tainted with spray. I also observed somebears responding to these sites for up to a 5 days after spray application. So not only were they attracted to it but for some time after it had been dispensed. So I published a short note hoping to warn others of the potential dangers associated with misuse of the product.
Some persons have concluded that because pepper spray was shown to elicit and hold a bear’s interest is ought not be used as a deterrent. Does this make any sense? Of course not. All it means is that these sprays should only be used as intended by their manufacturers: directly into the face of an aggressive bear. Other uses, such as applying it to objects in the hopes that the spray might have some sort of repellent effect would be an outright waste of the product, and given my findings, potentially dangerous. Even after noting that some red pepper spray deterrents have this attractive quality about them, I never questioned their use or effectiveness. I carry theses products in bear country, my field assistants carry them and they are effective.
Tom S. Smith, Ph.D.U.S. Geological SurveyAlaska Science Center - Biological Science Office1011 E. Tudor Rd., MS 701Anchorage, AK 99503Office: (907) 786-3456Fax: (907) 786-3636email: tom_smith@usgs.gov
Photograph taken with thanks from
chroniclesandexploits.com/1500MilestoAmerica.htm
Naga Jolokia Addict
1 comment:
Wow is really cool, I'm gonna look for some kind of information in Indian Pharmacy they always have information about this products, thanks for the tip.
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