Mt Whitney Zone Forums General Discussion Don't Tase Me, Ranger Bob!

A new Taser model has been announced for zapping wildlife.

"Provided that both darts hit the target separated by a reasonable distance, a crippling 20,000-volt pulsed current can then be passed through the victim's body. This will generally cause a human to collapse immediately: and it now emerges, according to experiments by an Alaska Department of Fish and Game operative, that tasing will also incapacitate both brown bears and moose, species which occasionally give the authorities trouble in some regions of the States."

No mention of use on grizzlies - probably just make them cranky.

An incident in Oregon also appears to confirm that a Taser will take down an elk.

Manufacturer's details here.

> No mention of use on grizzlies

   
        from TruckerFun.com




The National Park Rangers are advising hikers in Glacier National Park and other Rocky Mountain parks to be alert for bears and take extra precautions to avoid an encounter.

They advise park visitors to wear little bells on their clothes so they make noise when hiking.  The bell noise allows bears to hear them coming from a distance and not be startled by a hiker accidentally sneaking up on them. This might cause a bear to charge.

Visitors should also carry a pepper spray can just in case a bear is encountered.  Spraying the pepper into the air will irritate the bear's sensitive nose and it will run away.

It is also a good idea to keep an eye out for fresh bear scat so you have an idea if bears are in the area.  People should be able to recognize the difference between black bear and grizzly bear scat.

Black bear droppings are smaller and often contain berries, leaves, and possibly bits of fur.  Grizzly bear droppings tend to contain small bells and smell of pepper...
                ...and it glows in the dark!!

Here's a new article:

Company in America launches Taser 'bear stun gun'

It can temporarily incapacitate mammals like bears and moose and is designed to increase the safety of wildlife workers and park rangers.

"It can" and "designed to increase" are phrases that give me pause.

I think the fundamental voltage, etc. is the same as the criminal version, you just get three shots at a grizzly before you die.

So the point is to anger the bear to the point that (s)he just swipes your head off with a single paw smack, instead of toying with you first? ;-)

20,000 volts for an 800 pound bear, 50,000 volts for us people. Nice...

Hmmm. Hadn't seen this. The original Taser specs are tuned to the human nervous system. There's no question it would work with other animals and maybe work better if it's tweaked to their nervous system. My worry would be what happens when you stop delivering voltage? There was a classic case many years ago of a grizzly being tranquilized with a dart gun and, upon coming to, went right for the person who darted him.

There is a Taser video of a dog attacking an officer, getting tased and running off afterward. But a grizzly??

I can't remember if I told my most recent pepper spray vs. bear story:

Two years ago, two bears had broken in through the roof of my ranger station and were hanging around hoping for more food. I had spotted one of the bears heading my way so I hid behind a tree. When he got close, I popped out from behind the tree and sprayed his direction with pepper spray. Safety Tip: Always test the spray pattern before using this stuff. It put out, not a direct stream like I expected, but a huge ball of orange fog that hovered about 5 feet in front of both of us. We both stared at the fog -- not knowing which way it would go, stared back at each other, and decided to run at the same moment. Fortunately in opposite directions.

That night, they were back on the porch. I got the pepper spray again, stuck only my hand out the door and sprayed. Great thrashing as the bears ran off then, ooops, it drifted inside the cabin!!!! Auuugggghhhhhhh. Headed choking and gasping outside in the snow until in cleared -- about 30 minutes.

Never use that stuff again... .

George