written permission except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.
You have been warned.
1. Bear Pepper Spray provides a person with a reason not to run. Running is a behavior which increases a bears natural reaction of chasing and attacking. Not running and holding your ground conveys a message that bears recognize, that of co-dominant unwilling to yield. That gives them pause and buys you time.
2. The sudden and loud hissing of the spray and billowing cloud startles bears. This is caused by the high pressure sound and sight that is surprising.
3. The red pepper extract is clearly a strong irritant, as observed with bears that have been sprayed. Wildlife biologists, myself (Mark Matheny) and many others have seen bears sprayed directly with bear spray and they cough, wheeze, paw their eyes and nose wildly. It does create considerable discomfort in them. Having the effect of stopping the behavior the bear was displaying immediately prior to being sprayed.
We are dedicated to safeguard people from attacks and to help better coexist with wildlife.