using loud noise to scare animals

In terms of the objective risk of death or injury, the most dangerous part of any outdoor adventure is the drive in the motor vehicle from our house to the trailhead.

Cheers!

probably being struck by lightning is bigger risk :)

I’ve had multple bears run when they heard my voice from a hundred yards or more. Usually just announcing  your presence is enough.

Once a somewhat habituated grizzly in Montana kept coming. We backed off the trail and the bear kept right on going. I think he just wanted past.

The only other time it didn’t work was a very persistent black bear (he might have wanted the critter I was helping to skin). Yelling didn’t work. Finally I shot over his head and that was enough. But he would have heard the high velocity crack of the bullet breaking the sound barrier over is head not just the boom. I’m not sure a loud noise maker would have helped.

Normally just yelling is enough. If not, I think bear spray is your best option. Or back out if possible and save yourself the sneezing fit that comes with using bear spray.

My minimally informed guess is that in situations where the noisemaker would work, so would yelling.  In situations where it wouldn’t work, neither would yelling.

I think there’s a vast difference between announcing your presence so a bear can avoid you and stopping an aggressive bear.  The former works best when you make sounds that *could* be something for a bear to be concerned about (e.g., another bear) rather than something of no concern (bird, squirrel, etc.).  Smith says bears tend to ignore high-pitched sounds like bear bells (and maybe that siren linked to above?) but snap to attention when someone coughs, talks, breaks a dry twig, crashes through brush, clears his throat, etc.

See:  Smith, T. S., Herrero, S., Layton, C. S., Larsen, R. T. and Johnson, K. R. (2012), Efficacy of
firearms for bear deterrence in Alaska. The Journal of Wildlife Management, 76: 1021–1027.

Stopping an aggressive bear is another kettle of fish, not that a kettle of fish will do the trick.

Typical human sounds, such as yelling and clapping, are not as scary to animals as they should be. The best noise deterrent a human can produce with their body is something similar to a mountain lion type of loud hiss-spit noise. You don’t make this noise with your vocal chords, but instead with your tongue and the roof of your mouth while strongly exhaling. This is the universal language of “GTFO or I will shred the meat off your face no matter what size you are!”

Watch videos of what mountain lions do for defense when they jump at their attacker while hissing and spitting and making a scene. If you can reproduce this energy and noise, it will give second thoughts to anything think of harming or eating you.

Yelling just doesn’t work well unless the animals are already afraid of humans, and its just announcing that fact. If they are not afraid of humans, you have to MAKE THEM AFRAID, right away.

I am now experimenting making different hissing/spitting noises with my mouth

My wife thinks I’m demented, and she’s right : )

“My wife thinks I’m demented”

Most likely so will the bear.  ;0)

I wonder if cultivating the ability to flatulate when necessary would prove effective?

Something tells me that me making a hissing noise isn’t going to deter a charging bear. Actually, not looking a bear who’s standing ground in the eyes, but looking askant and calmly making soothing sounds, like, “that’s ok bear” etc. would be a better strategy. In other words, not challenging the bear or threatening the bear. This worked once for me when I startled a bear and he wasn’t sure how to react. Defuse the situation.

Otherwise I’d go with the banger and then bear spray.

the only bears I’ve seen ran away as soon as they saw me

a device could probably make a louder noise for a longer period of time than you could yell.  You could make a device that had different noises – hissing, human voice,…

bear spray has some disadvantages – limited supply, it gets in your own eyes, wind can blow it away from the bear,…

I had a stare off with a black bear last season. It was cutting me off in the direction of travel I needed to go. We both stopped, stared at each other for 30 seconds, then I started moving forward towards it. It tucked tail, flipped around as fast as it could in the other direction, running front legs flying behind its rear, down the mountain the way it came. Never said a thing, waved my arms or shouted. I was sunburned, tired, on my last day out of the week, and still had 20 miles to go. Take that bear! :)

Yeah, I’ve often heard that you don'[t want to make eye contact with a bear that’s standing its ground. They read it as a challenge. Rather, look away to the side and speak calmly and reassuringly. How you’d act if you ran into Marjorie Taylor Greene.

Says the man who doesn’t have a story to tell

My own experience in chasing black bears away from a camp site is that it takes a LOT of pot banging and yelling to get the bear to leave. They are very reluctant to leave if they know that there is food there. Not my camp site but neighboring camp sites in California Sierra road side camp grounds.

I have no back country experience to relate of bears in camp. I have always kept a clean camp with food kept in Ursacks, bear resistant barrels or hung properly.

Larry S

“Says the man who doesn’t have a story to tell”

Oh I’ve had dozens of close bear encounters. I’ve told all my stories here before; people are tired of them.

Here’s one to illustrate the point in my last post. I was hiking quietly alone and came on a bear ambling off to the side of the trail ahead of me. He/she didn’t know I was there. I followed along for about five minutes, enjoying watching bear behavior. Suddenly I stepped on a stick. The bear wheeled, saw me, and took off for about four seconds. then stopped. I could almost see the light go off: “wait, I”M the bear!” He turned and started clacking his teeth and swaying his head from side to side. That’s not good. It’s aggressive signaling. I lowered my eyes and started speaking in soothing tones. didn’t meet his gaze. After less than a minute the bear as much as said, ‘well, now that’s settled’ and slowly ambled off.

Well there you go.

I’ve danced in a circle counter clockwise while hopping on one foot and it started to rain. I guess that’s the only way you can make it rain.

These types of things are so variable in many different ways, depending on type of person, type of bear and most certainly mood of each. I’m glad of your success.

I’m glad that your bear ran off as well. You may look more imposing than me.

I also suggest reciting Ode to a Grecian Urn to the bear in these situations. Or maybe, Do Not Go Gentle Into That Good Night for your own sake.

Very imposing.

Here I am relaxing with friends in a hot spring. I’m the one in the center with the transfixed stare ;)