Does pepper spray protect people from bears?
http://www.nps.gov/dena/frequently-asked-questions-regarding-bears.htm
nope, but after enough people find out the hard way that it doesn’t, the bear is preseasoned for those of us smart enough to just shoot the thing.
That info-page is a bunch of typical hug-a-bear (pun intended) BS, as I’m sure you know. Notice how they down play the agressive behavior of bears, slanting it towards humans causing the problem.
Pepper spray is really not much of a deterrent with people either. Those of us who have gone through hands-on training which required being sprayed and then continuing the “attack” (on the instuctors padded up). It was amazing, we all (our class of 33) averaged a good 20 seconds of effective force including the ability to think tactically and act on it.
We had to run, fend off or attack the instuctor (the scenario varied with the instructor so you couldn’t plan a defence), find a weapon (plastic pistol) on the ground “lost” in the struggle, aim it at our assailant, pretend to shoot several rounds, then run back to the starting point. You had to actually, physically fend off the instructor, no “pretending” allowed. 20 seconds is a very long time when the chips are down. I was amazed—and heartened by the ability to just keep going.
A lesson for those who depend on pepper spray for bear or humans.
Only from very insular ones, who do not like spicy foreign foods.