| NATIONAL PARKS QUICKLINKS |
Also on Backpacker.com
Backpacker Magazine – Online Exclusive
Ask A Bear: Will Pet Hair Attract a Bear
Our resident bruin expert answers all your questions in our weekly feature, 'Ask A Bear.'
-
Tags:
- Ask A Bear |
- Nature |
- Wildlife |
- Skills |
- Survival |
Q: I have two dogs and two cats (none of which I bring backpacking), which means I have lots of animal hair and dander throughout the house and on my clothing. Will these scents attract you as a potential food source while I enjoy the great outdoors?—Ross Bruneau, via emailA: Two dogs and two cats? That sounds like more work than keeping me as a pet.
In all likelihood, you have very little to worry about. While my nose is certainly strong enough to potentially detect those scents, they're likely to be overwhelmed by smells coming from you—deodorant, food smells, your natural funk, etc. In the panoply of things I can detect, it's probably best for you to focus on eliminating and properly storing stronger smells (like your own food sources) than worrying about dog or cat hair or dander.
I'm sometimes attracted to pets, but that usually has to do with the scent of their presence, food, or noises they might make rather than the particular scent on their fur. That said, it's probably best to just get into the habit of keeping your gear as clean and odor-free as possible. It'll lower the possibility of bringing attractive scents into the backcountry, and it'll keep your gear working longer to boot.
Think about it: The amount of hair on your head or body (which I could theoretically also smell) is probably more than any animal hair in your tent or on your gear. If not, then you have bigger much problems to worry about than me. Time to invest in a lint roller, Fuzzy.
—BEAR
Got a question for the bear? Send it to askabear@backpacker.com.
Subscribe to Backpacker magazine
Sign up for our free weekly e-newsletter
Reader Rating:
-
Editors' Choice 2013
412 trail-tested products
Boost Your Apps
Add powerful tools and exclusive maps to your BACKPACKER apps through our partnership with Trimble Outdoors.
Carry the Best Maps
With BACKPACKER PRO Maps, get life-list destinations and local trips on adventure-ready waterproof myTopo paper.
FREE Rocky Mountain Trip Planner
Sign up for a free Rocky Mountain National Park trip planning kit from our sister site MyRockyMountainPark.com.
Get 2 FREE Trial Issues and 3 FREE GIFTS
Survival Skills 101 • Eat BetterThe Best Trails in America
YES! Please send me my FREE trial issues of Backpacker
and my 3 FREE downloadable booklets.
Free trial offer valid for US subscribers only.
Canadian subscriptions |
International subscriptions
and my 3 FREE downloadable booklets.
READERS COMMENTS
I've had cats and if you can say "I am sure" instead of "my cats have" I really doubt if your cats have marked your vehicle as their territory. Quick quiz: can you stand the odor inside your car with the windows rolled up? If you can they haven't marked it.
I've had a bear break into a cabin that hadn't had any food or pets in it for almost a year. They're curious and sometimes they also associate vehicles/campers/cabins with food so they're apt to check it out.
They also have noses that are strong enough that they can smell ants under the ground, so you're going to have to REALLY clean in order to get any food residue odors out of your car.
However unlike wolves bears seldom kill or eat pets.
It was probably checking your car for doughnuts.
What about my car? Cats sleep on my car and I am sure mark it as their territory. Last month (October) I parked it at the Redfish Trailhead near Stanley ID. Since the lodge was closed and it was late in the season there was little traffic in the area. I had washed and vaccumed my car the week before so I know there was no food inside. When I returned after five peaceful days backpacking I found bear prints on the back and side of my car, on top as if the bear was sniffing the roof,where possibly a cat had been sleeping the just before I left. Didn't even scratch the paint but did break a door handle.
I have wondered about this and I'm glad it was asked.
You have got to be kidding, nobody would really ask this question.
ADD A COMMENT