Ask A Bear: Do Tasers Stop Bears?

READERS COMMENTS

I seriously question this article. I mean send an email to a bear.And like he can't be a highly educated bear because there is no such thing.
Posted: Feb 12, 2012 Sabrina

I can talk to a bear yeah, lol!!!!!!!!!
Posted: Feb 12, 2012 Sabrina

I am seven and I have come up close with a baby black bear 10 times and as far as I know a bear can't talk.
Posted: Feb 12, 2012 Sabrina

Ha ha ha, I live in Alaska too and would consider a taser as backup to my bear spray. Some trails in Anchorage have humans that are more dangerous than bears- the benifit is that the taser would work on them too.
Anyone backpacking- I recommend the short US-Canadian collaboration "Staying Safe in Bear Country". Great DVD.
Don't tasers deliver an electrical charge that would travel through anything that conducts a current until it is grounded? I imagine that the bear offers much more resistance, decreasing the effectiveness, but it's electrical system might still be a little interrupted.
Posted: Sep 15, 2011 alaska too

I live in Anchorage, Alaska, and every year we have brown bears and black bears in our yard. Local hiking trails have plenty, too. Bears generally seem to be as afraid of us as we are of them, and they typically move away from hikers before the hikers even knew bears were present. Neighborhood dogs seem a bigger threat, and dog bites in our local hospital emergency departments are much more common than bear bites. The thing Tasers offer, as protection against dogs and bears, that guns and pepper spray don't is muscle paralysis. Angry dogs and bears seem to be able to ignore pain. I don't think they can ignore muscle paralysis/spasm. Hence my interest in knowing about actual encounters rather than theory. Guns are also heavy if you're backpacking, and you need to make a good shot in a hurry to kill a bear before it kills you. Playing dead is a strategy that has worked well with brown bears here, but I don't know that I have the guts to try it.
Posted: Aug 26, 2011 Peter Jensen

I live in Anchorage, Alaska, and every year we have brown bears and black bears in our yard. Local hiking trails have plenty, too. Bears generally seem to be as afraid of us as we are of them, and they typically move away from hikers before the hikers even knew bears were present. Neighborhood dogs seem a bigger threat, and dog bites in our local hospital emergency departments are much more common than bear bites. The thing Tasers offer, as protection against dogs and bears, that guns and pepper spray don't is muscle paralysis. Angry dogs and bears seem to be able to ignore pain. I don't think they can ignore muscle paralysis/spasm. Hence my interest in knowing about actual encounters rather than theory. Guns are also heavy if you're backpacking, and you need to make a good shot in a hurry to kill a bear before it kills you. Playing dead is a strategy that has worked well with brown bears here, but I don't know that I have the guts to try it.
Posted: Aug 26, 2011 Peter Jensen

What taser has a 35 foot range?
Posted: Jul 17, 2011 cesar

What laser has a 35 foot range?
Posted: Jul 17, 2011 cesar

I have no idea why my post in in duplicate...just my luck.
Posted: Apr 15, 2011 BigSkyAdventurist

In Yellowstone it is now legal to carry weapons openly with certain restrictions. I carry a .40 caliber H&K semi-auto pistol loaded with nine rounds in the magazine and one in the pipe. The first three rounds are bird shot...the last 7 are FMJ's. And one extra 9 shot magazine loaded full with Hornady hollolw points in my pocket. The thinking here is to frighten the bear with the noise and sting his ass good with the bird shot rounds, hoping he runs away. The best case scenario is the bear leaves the scene, I pick up the empties and get the hell out of the area, avoiding a terrible federal investigation and possible prosecution for DISCHARGING A FIREARM IN YELLOWSTONE.
The worst case scenario has two parts.
Part 1: The bear does not respond to the the first three harmless shots and contunes to charge, I empty the last seven rounds into the bear... he dies and falls dead. A federal invesigation begins and turns into a life changing day and nightmare of federal investigation and court proceedings of momumental proportions. Part 2: After firing the last seven rounds into the charging bear, he continues his assault thinking about the last time he was drugged with PCP and relocated... tackling me as I try to reload and stick the barrel of my pistol into his frothing mouth full of razor sharp teeth and rapidly fire nine more rounds through the back of his thick skull, killing him before he tears me to pieces...then we go though the ivestigation. Most likley a long drawn out trial, prosecution and incarceration in a federal facility. I love happy endings.
Posted: Apr 15, 2011 BigSkyAdventurist

I would seriously question your back country experience and savvy if you let a bear get close enough for you to use either taser or stun gun. And worse . . .it will only "annoy" the bear and after the initial annoyance you had better be able to the 100 yard dash in less than 5 seconds. Less than ten won't cut it. At 10 seconds you would be doing something like 20 mph and angry bears are doing about 30-35 mph. Do the math.
Posted: Apr 12, 2011 Al from Concord

Aren't any of you fans of the Darwin Awards?

Tasers work wonderfully on bears! The smell of raw fish also works well as a deterrent (especially in the early spring).


just kidding
Posted: Apr 07, 2011 dropkick

The taser company do make a taser for animals. Their instructional video showed them dropping a huge bull (bovine-type) like a rock. But, he was really PO'ed when he got up. He charged the gate where the shooter (& camera man) were at. A bear would possibly do the same. Also, the prongs don't have to penetrate to be effective. In police training, the prongs were placed on subjects using alligator clips to clothing. One probe on one person at the end of a line and another probe attached to another person at the other end of the line. The entire line interlocked their arms. When activated, all trainees fell down (they were on their knees on a padded mat).
Posted: Apr 07, 2011 Carl Z

If you're hiking in grizzly country where guns are legal, carry a rifle. Check out the Ruger Alaskan chambered for 375 Ruger. If you're carrying a concealed handgun in a national park, hike the hell somewhere else!
Posted: Apr 07, 2011 Bill

Stun guns — commonly referred to as Tasers, a brand name — are not legal in Michigan outside of law enforcement and a few other limited exceptions. http://www.mlive.com/news/muskegon/index.ssf/2011/03/post_69.html
Posted: Apr 07, 2011 Michigander

umm i think a tazor may work,but i would just go with a 44 magnium or a 12 gadge shot gun with large buck shot if you want good defence against a bear
Posted: Jan 14, 2011 carl

Well Mr bear expert you need to read up how they have been used in Alaska on bears. Everyone that was tased ran for the hills afterwards. Anchorage police asked the public NOT to taser bears because they fear it may not always work but so far it has on black bears and brown bears.
Personally I think there is a need for a specially made taser for bears. They have a taser shotgun shell that’s being tested on animals and already used on people. So don’t discard this idea until the research is in.
By the way I am a bear biologist.

Posted: Dec 05, 2010 frank

There's a lot of misinformation about Taser products here. The probes don't have to penetrate clothes, or fur for that matter, to work. They only need to be spread far enough apart and be on the surface; electricity finds a path. Taser probes are currently only 25 feet long, so if you have to reload for another shot, it's highly unlikely you'd have time to do that if being charged by a bear.

The main reason I wouldn't want to use a Taser-type device on a bear is the lack of persistent effect. Law enforcement Tasers only cycle for 5 seconds, while some civilian models cycle for up to a minute. Even if you managed to land an effective shot, you'd likely have a very angry bear to deal with in 5-60 seconds. Bear spray is more forgiving to aim, and once on the bear, works for several minutes. I'd much rather be Tased than sprayed again; I've been hit by both. Skip the Taser, take the spray.
Posted: Aug 12, 2010 Anonymous

I worked as a Conservator intern at a museum in Victoria BC. I had the opportunity to touch a stuffed griz. The hair is like copper wire in density! I doubt a taser would penetrate to the tough hide!!! I too asked a warden in Glacier National Park if a taser would be a deterrent. Can you believe the answer ,she asked eagerly and excitedly,"do you have one on your person?"
I was shocked,she couldn't care less about me just the bears!
No I don't want to be on National Geographic as a casualty . So fish or hike with a group and ask a warden what's up on bear sightings that day .
I travelled by motorcycle up a 17 mile dirt road in griz country to Brookes Lake a pretty spot on the Continental Divide . On either side of the road were yellow signs "At your own risk you are in Griz country." I was my choice but we were lucky.
Posted: Jun 19, 2010 LEN IN RALEIGH NC

I'm sold on using bear spray and carry it with me on every hike in Glacier Nat'l Park, but since I can't imagine laying down and covering my head with my arms I will have a .357 magnum as a back-up. I know to a griz that might be a pea shooter, but after the bear spray a few well place shots have to be better than laying down and praying.
What say you???
Posted: May 20, 2010 dd

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