El Dorado County Search & Rescue

During the September SAREX, one of our people reported seeing a mother bear and three cubs travelling near Cody Lake. While nothing else was seen or heard of the bear family, concerns for field teams’ safety were markedly heightened for awhile.

Pepper spray is widely recommended as protection against bears and other animals. If you have ever considered carrying it, you may be interested in the following article. The USGS says that, while it’s effective against bears, pepper spray may actually attract them if used unwisely.

The article contains excerpts from a USGS news release dated 2/10/98. The complete article is found at:

U.S. Department of the Interior
U.S. Geological Survey
USGS Alaska Science Center

Red pepper spray, commonly used by people in bear country to ward off aggressive bear attacks, may actually attract brown bears if used improperly, according to preliminary research by a wildlife ecologist at the USGS Alaska Science Center in Anchorage.

In research recently submitted for publication in the Wildlife Society Bulletin, USGS researcher Tom Smith emphasized that although the spray is a proven deterrent in some encounters with aggressive bears, red pepper spray is not a bear repellent when applied to objects such as tents, food containers, clothing or other personal belongings.

Smith said that although research has shown that red pepper spray is highly effective as a deterrent in aggressive grizzly and brown bear encounters when sprayed directly in a bear's eyes or nose, his pilot study shows that spray residues did attract brown bears when used in nonaggressive situations.

Brown bear responses to red pepper spray-treated sites in his study ranged from mere sniffing to whole body rolling in the residues, an uncommon bear behavior.

The spray is often carried as a bear protection method by hikers, campers, biologists, rangers, hunters, and other outdoor enthusiasts. The carrying of red pepper spray has been encouraged in some national parks where bears are common and firearms are prohibited. Some state wildlife and game agencies have also been encouraging the carrying of the spray in bear habitats.

"If my study observations hold true elsewhere, then red pepper spray residues on the spray canisters, field gear, or on foliage near camps or other human high-use areas may provide sites of interest to brown bears and consequently risk human safety," Smith warned. In back country areas where hikers and researchers may use the same location for extended times, continuing indiscriminate use of the spray could cumulatively create a potentially harmful situation for the next person who uses the campsite, Smith said. "We are concerned that if red pepper spray is used in this inappropriate manner, it may attract bears, result in property damage, or a confrontation."

Smith urged that until further research is conducted, people who carry red pepper spray in bear country should not test-fire newly purchased red pepper spray near camps or other human high-use areas. As an additional precaution, Smith advises that once fired, the canisters should not be kept in or near the tents of sleeping persons because of the possibility that red pepper spray residues on canister nozzles may attract bears.