Almost two years ago I submitted a blog that explored the question as to if air horns lead to good carry deterrents. That posting produced a bit of interest quite, so I decided to revisit the subject to see if there was anything new to report on. In particular, were there any new studies providing hard evidence as to whether air horns really work or not?
It seems that the idea of using air horns as a keep deterrent has actually gained some grip since I last frequented this topic. However, I couldn’t find anything definitive. Quite simply, I couldn’t find any studies that have actually been conducted on black bears or grizzly bears to determine the efficiency of air horns as a deterrent.
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In a recent “Ask A Bear” column, Backpacker Magazine cited a test conducted on polar bears in the 70s that found that ultrasonic frequencies fine-tuned and blasted over large audio speakers repelled bears roughly 69% of the time. This is the only study that I possibly could find that was even remotely related to my question, but it really doesn’t answer it.
One, the test was conducted on polar bears, and two, air horns weren’t found in the test. I should explain that the column also states that bear expert Stephen Herrero believes that an ultrasonic bear repellent is worth further research and testing. Noise deterrents work by making a loud, unpleasant sound that causes the keep to be uneasy and move away.
Noise deterrents are advantageous if you are an extended distance away from the keep. Furthermore, they cause neither harm nor injury to the bear when used correctly. In some full cases, noise deterrents do not work either because the bear has habituated to human noise or because it has no natural fear of the noise. For example, a habituated bear is very unlikely to react to a car siren if officers remain in the automobile.
Unlike human being dominance techniques which speak the language of the bear, a carry may have to be taught that noise deterrents are accompanied by an unpleasant or negative situation. However, a bear makes the association once, an officer may only have to stick his shotgun to make the bear leave (link).
I found several governmental websites in the United States and Canada that offered similar advice. As a complete result of the Marine Mammal Safety Work, the U.S. These guidelines…are befitting safely and nonlethally deterring polar bears from harmful private and open public property and endangering the general public. The use of commercially available air horns and other similar devices made to deter wild pets…may be effective in deterring bears while leading to no long lasting or permanent harm to individual animals.
Make a lot of noise, when traveling in dense vegetation especially. Sing, shout, or talk loudly. You can bring portable air horns, cans of stones. Please note that bear bells aren’t effective – they don’t make enough sound to warn a bear that you will be approaching. You should be so the carry can hear you coming loud!