Originally Posted By: dweste
I wish the attack victims well.

I do not know if anything would work in the momma-and-cubs- situation, but in my imagination I would sure appreciate a thick fog of bear spray to increase chances of distraction to aid safe extraction.

Please educate my imagination so it more closely resembles reality. How does bear spray work? Do bears see through bear spray or can you use the spray to create a blank curtain-effect to hide behind? Are bears threatened by the spray so it makes them more aggressive?

Thanks.


All you need to know about bear spray.

3 years ago, I purchased a new can of bear spray. For future emergency use reference and to familiarize myself with the trigger mechanism, I took it out into the trees behind our house. I shot a small test spray out onto a base of a tree from about 25' away only to have some of the spray bounce back into my face. Needless to say, it was not a pleasant experience at all and luckily I only got a bit in my eyes which my SO was able to help flush out.

With that said, when it comes to using the spray against the real thing, the environment and wind must be right otherwise not only will you might end up with the full brunt of the spray in your face, the bear attack that you wanted to avoid with the spray may also end up causing you to have a really bad day..

Here is a short video of bear spray being applied against a bear. Keep in mind that this looks like a staged event against the bear that I am not too thrilled to see but does show the spray and it's effectiveness in some cases.

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Earth and sky, woods and fields, lakes and rivers, the mountain and the sea, are excellent schoolmasters, and teach some of us more than we can ever learn from books.

John Lubbock