Bear Repellents and Deterrents 



Over the past decade considerable effort has been directed toward the development of non-lethal 

 techniques for dealing with problem bears. Two promising techniques are repellents and deterrents. A 

 repellent is activated by humans and should immediately turn a bear away during a close approach or 

 attack. The most promising repellent is a capsaicin spray (i.e. bear spray). Several brands have been 

 developed which have been used successfully to repel attacking bears. These products are for defensive 

 purposes only, and, to be effective must be sprayed at the bear's face (the eye area). People working and 

 recreating in bear habitat will be encouraged to carry bear spray. Information will be available as to what 

 repellent products are available and how to use them properly. In addition, FWP will work with various 

 private interests to make these more readily available (i.e. cost share, etc.) and provide training on proper 

 use. 



A deterrent should prevent undesirable behaviors by turning bears away before a conflict occurs. Where 

 removal of an attractant isn't possible, electric fencing is an effective deterrent to prevent bears from 

 accessing human food sources and other attractants (garbage, food storage areas, livestock boneyards, 

 etc.). Rubber bullets, hard plastic slugs, propane guns and "critter gitters" will be used to educate bears 

 to avoid a particular area, usually when a bear is attracted to a human food source or when a bear 

 becomes habituated to human activities. Dogs will be used to deter bears from livestock and from 

 backcountry work camps. 



Aversive Conditioning 



Aversive conditioning is non-lethal bear control used as an alternative to killing or relocating bears that 

 become too closelv associated with people. Aversive conditioning should modify previously established 

 undesirable behavior through the use of repellents or deterrents. This conditioning must be repeated 

 until avoidance of people or their property is firmly established. Primary goals of aversive conditioning 

 are to (i) train bears to avoid people and their activities and (ii) inform people of ways to prevent bear 

 conflicts. In recent years, the Wind River Bear Institute (WRBI) has developed the Partners in Life 

 Program with a goal of providing for coexistence of humans and bears by preventing and reducing 

 conflicts. The program uses highly trained Karelian bear dogs and biologists in combination with other 

 deterrents (rubber bullets, cracker shell, etc.) to teach bears to change their undesirable behaviors. 

 Problem bears are conditioned to avoid human use areas and the public is educated to behave in a 

 manner that prevents bear problems and their reoccurrence. The program has been used successfully on 

 both black and grizzlv bears in Glacier National Park, Yosemite National Park, several Canadian parks, 

 and on private and public land in northwestern Montana and southwestern Alberta. It should be noted 

 that aversive conditioning is not always successful, and some individual bears will still occasionally need 

 to be removed. FWP will continue to work with the FWP Foundation to provide funding to ensure 

 grizzly bear conservation in Montana. 



Management Control 



Bears may become "habituated" to human activities (ignore nearby human activity) or become "food- 

 conditioned" (consume human food or garbage or other attractants). While food conditioned bears do 

 not necessarily become habituated, habituated bears often lose their fear of humans and consequently no 

 longer avoid people. More importantly, habituated and/or food-conditioned bears are most often 

 involved in injury or death to humans. To deal with these issues, FWP preferred approaches are as 

 follows: 



> If the bear is already habituated and/or food conditioned and is viewed as a threat to human 

 safety, that bear would be removed (euthanized or relocated to a research facility/zoo). 



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