Do Bear Bells Really Work?

Our resident bruin expert answers all your questions in our weekly feature, 'Ask A Bear.'

Q: I visited Yellowstone for the first time this summer, and I wanted to go for a trail run. It was my first time alone in grizzly country, so I decided to buy some bear bells. At the checkout, the lady decided to warn me that because so many people use bear bells now, you might actually associate the sound with humans and come to investigate. You wouldn't really do that, would you!?—Boomer from Wisconsin, via email

A: Dinner bells, hiker hamburger hail, afternoon-snack alarm—the bear bell is a bear-country souvenir store staple that gets a lot of flack from locals and backcountry veterans. Whether it works on me isn't exactly clear.

In the most advanced testing, bear biologist Tom Smith jingled bear bells in varying volumes in front of brown bears in Katmai National Park. Regardless of how vigorously he shook, 15 different sets of bruins ignored the bells. And yet they snapped at attention the second he broke a pencil in half. This isn't 100-percent proof that bears don't respond to bear bells; Katmai bears are known for being relatively non-aggressive. But it means that in this specific case, the bells failed to warn and change my behavior as intended.

It's possible that bells aren't loud or unfamiliar enough; I might be tuning them out the same way I tune out gurgling water or birds chirping. Supporters point out that in a study in Glacier National Park conducted in 1982, the only people who got charged by bears that year were not wearing bells.

As far as attraction, bear guru Stephen Herrero leaves room for the possibility that bear bells might arouse interest in the more curious members of my species. There's not a lot hard evidence to support this, but when the human ambassador for my kind points it out, you probably should at least consider it.

Regardless, bells aren't terribly loud and could easily get lost in the sounds of wind, a river, or thick forest. It's much safer and smarter to use your own voice: Sing, shout my name, or, if you're Herrero, yodel. It's the best, most reliable way to alert me to your unfamiliar presence and ensure that I head in the opposite direction. Believe me: Yodeling sounds just as bad to my ears as it does to yours.

—BEAR

Got a question for the bear? Send it to askabear@backpacker.com.

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Donna Boyett

Feb 09, 2012

I think a bear bell is a good idea for mountain bikers use while on a trail used by equestrians. If the mountain biker that came up behind me and my horse had been using a bear bell, my horse might not have spooked. I wouldn't have been almost scalped and broken my neck. I highly reccommend them. Also it helps if a hiker or biker speaks to you by just saying hello. Then the horse knows someone is there.

Jeffery T

Feb 03, 2012

About 5 years back I was hiking alone in Glacier National Park. As I passed by a group of 4 or five young men they laughed and made fun of my bear bells. But I just continued on in one direction and they continued on in the other. But just a mile furthur up the trail, guess what I encountered.. a bear. He was up in a tree only 20 feet off of the trail. As I unknowingly passed by him, the bear jumped out of the tree and ran off out of sight. I don't know for sure if my bear bells are what made him aware of me, but lucky for me, the bear appeared to be more afraid of me than I was afraid of him.

ron

Dec 26, 2011

I wil hike the at next year, to bell or not to bell.

Meg Schmidt

Jul 08, 2011

I used bear bells in Glacier Park in 1982 and I'm still here!

Meg Schmidt

Jul 08, 2011

I used bear bells in Glacier Park in 1982 and I'm still here!

Capt Lefty

May 17, 2011

Pavlov

Mountaingal

Mar 03, 2011

I've pack horses into the Cascades for 20 years. Horse response is not a fair comparison to a bear's response. Horses are the prey. They are herd animals like elk. They respond to a cracked twig like something might eat them. Since they focus on that one unusual item as a survival threat, the hiker needs to take the downhill side, or flight as the means of escape could send the horse and rider over the cliff. Bear bells are not necessary with horses. The bear I've seen hear us in advance, and take off, which is fine with me. The only sounds I want to hear is the creaking of saddles, and thud of hoof beats against a backdrop of nature.

Jerry Doyle

Mar 03, 2011

I'm a solo hiker having hiked in Alaska, Canada and the Northwest USA, including Glacier National Park. I use bear bells knowing the controversy surrounding the efficacy, but when hiking solo how can one all day use his voice singing, shouting and talking? Interestingly, while hiking outside Banff, Alberta Canada a horseman leading a pack train of horses stopped and shouted to me to stop too. His reason for asking me to stop? He said my bear bells were scaring his horses, and asked that I stop walking until he past completely with his team of horses. I found that request speaking volumes in saying that animals notice the bear bells and whether that cowboy pokes fun at them or not, he had to contend with me wearing them by asking me to stop walking so as not to scare his pack train of horses. Interesting.

Argosinu

Mar 03, 2011

I think the distinction between surprising/startling a bear and scaring one away is important. If the bear wants your food, the bell is worthless. And I want Mama bear to call her cub well before I arrive.

James

Mar 03, 2011

A few years ago I attended a bear lecture by a ranger at Banff National Park, who said bells are worthless because (1) they aren't loud enough for a bear to hear before you are up to the bear, and (2) bears don't associate the sound of a bell with humans, so they won't run away. As for the 1982 "study" in Glacier, I would guess that non-bell-wearers were charged because almost no one wore bells in 1982.

Debby Nelson

Mar 03, 2011

Trail running in bear country is fool hardy. One sure way to attract a grizzly-RUN! Better to leave the running in non bear habitat.

Steve C

Mar 03, 2011

Some old timers used to tie items like tin cups, pots, canteen onto the outside of their packs. The "clang, clang" with each step certainly alerted wildlife (and everyone else) to their coming.