A WA Kayak Club member I know told me that on a (non-paddling) trip to Churchill on Hudson's Bay he had fended off a Polar Bear using a can of bear spray. The bear had come up to him when out walking solo overland . He also reported that later a bear came into the compound he was staying in and reached over onto a raised walkway from below and tried to knock someone off his feet as he walked above. No way to know if it was the same bear or not. The spray could have pissed him off, not only didn't he get what looked like an easy meal he got a lot of pain instead. maybe I'm anthropomorphizing but I like the idea of bear spray. The bears can survive and train their cubs to respect humans much like we teach our children to respect skunks by giving them a wide berth should we see one. I've spent time in Grizzly country with only bear spray for protection (and far less than that the first time--even though every Alaskan I talked to said a .338--a very powerful rifle--was the minimum one should have) but if I was going to be solo in Polar Bear country I'd take a 12 Gauge (6 to 8 shot) short barreled pump shotgun and back that up with a can or two of bear spray. I'd carry the bear spray at all times and keep the gun ready and nearby. I think I'd also try to rig up some sort of perimeter warning system around my tent so I would have a better chance of getting some restful sleep and not have my mind jumping and waking me up with each little unfamiliar noise. Maybe I could make this out of some strong nylon fishing line strung around and out from the tent that if disturbed would pull the pin out of one of several battery powered personal protection alarms that make an ear splitting noise. I have one of those alarms and they are small (3"x2"x1"), light (100 grams, under 4oz.) and relatively cheap (I think I paid 5 or 6 dollars on sale at a local sports store). Maybe the strange noise would startle and confuse the bear and distract it from its purpose. With a wailing noise like that suddenly going off next to me the cobwebs would also probably clear from my just awakened mind rather quickly. I used to take a couple of "Saturn Missiles" (fireworks in compact block about 3" on each side) when wilderness kayaking in bear country because I figured that the 25 whistling spinning missiles (each ending in a loud pop packed into about 10 seconds) would probably send anything running that was caught by surprise by the chaotic noise, coming from so many different directions, it created. I used to be able to buy "Saturn Missiles" at the neighborhood fireworks stand, but now they are illegal in so many places and I don't think you could transport them by airliner, even before 911. I never did get the chance to see if they would really work as I had envisioned. Probably a good thing I never tried it, I might just have started some huge wildfire. Though that wasn't a likely possibility on the soggy WA and BC coasts where I kayak camped with them. Matt Broze www.marinerkayaks.com *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List - Any opinions or suggestions expressed here are solely those of the writer(s). You must assume the entire responsibility for reliance upon them. All postings copyright the author. Submissions: PaddleWise_at_PaddleWise.net Subscriptions: PaddleWise-request_at_PaddleWise.net Website: http://www.paddlewise.net/ ***************************************************************************Received on Mon Nov 03 2003 - 04:43:13 PST
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