[pct-l] More Musings on Bears and What Attracts Them

[wayneskraft at comcast.net (Wayne Kraft)]

Check out Stephen Herrero's book, Bear Attacks, particularly p.  
124-125.  The "answer" in brief.

1.  Herrero says he's found no correlation, in his analysis of  
grizzly bear attacks, between the attack and menstrual cycle.   
Although he doesn't say it specifically, I assume from the book as a  
whole that also applies to black bears or he would have said so.

2.  The data is too incomplete to draw definite conclusions.

3. In a1983 study involving captive polar bears, menstrual blood  
(i.e. used tampons) "elicited maximal interest" from the polar  
bears.  Other animal odors and female non-menstrual blood elicited  
minimal interest.

4.  Herrero appears reluctant to draw a direct connection between the  
reaction of a captive polar bear and a wild bear of another species  
and between exposure to menstrual blood and a menstruating female.

5.  Herrero suggests that internal tampons may be safer than external  
pads.

Lest you conclude that females are at a great disadvantage in bear  
country, please recall this famous Herrero quote relating to his  
analysis of a black bear attack:

"This is a clear example of the general type of  incident in which a  
black bear sees a person and decides to try to kill and eat its  
victim."'

Now isn't that comforting?


On Sep 5, 2005, at 10:03 PM, dsaufley@sprynet.com wrote:

> Okay, I've had one of Jeff's outstanding margaritas, and I'm  
> feeling brave enough to pose this real, yet quite personal  
> question.  I hope I don't offend anyone by asking, but I sincerely  
> wonder about this and never saw it addressed.
>
> This weekend we headed up into "active bear country" (that's what  
> the signs said, along with all of the warnings), up from Horseshoe  
> Meadows to New Army Pass, and back, camping along the shores of  
> Upper South Fork Lake.  Following closely all of the  
> recommendations, I put every scented thing that we had in our  
> possession in the bear cannister, 25 ft. away from our tent.  All  
> except for one thing -- me.  I happened to be having my period (of  
> course I would have it  -- I'd been looking forward to the outing  
> for weeks, and as all women know, these things always happen when  
> you least want them to).
>
> I have heard (once again, this is an unsubstantiated rumor rather  
> than a known fact) that bears are attracted to the scent of  
> menstruating women.  How or why they're attracted, I don't know,  
> just that they're drawn to the scent.  Does anyone know if this is  
> true?  I know how sensitive bears' noses are.  I took great care to  
> stow all waste, including personal items, in the bear can, of  
> course keeping things separate and sealed from food items.  But  
> despite fastidious personal hygiene, I still felt vulnerable -- it  
> was the one thing I could not control.  Is there any basis or cause  
> to be concerned?
>
> BTW, the outing was awesome and the scenery mind blowing.
>
> For my next topic, gas and flatulence at elevation -- is it just me?
>
> L-Rod
>
>
>
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