School project

[Wolf Nuijten]

Hello I'm Wolf Nuijten and I'm currently working on a school project for my senior year. I study product design and I want to make a product that scares animals away. I don't want my product to harm animals so guns are overruled. The animals I'm focusing on live in regions like Alaska, Canada and North-America. Currently I'm focusing on bears, deer and wolves. 

How do you prevent coming face to face with an animal? 
What to do if you come face to face? 
What do I need to bring if I'm going on hikes in regions like this?
How do I scare them away in general? 

If someone knows a lot about this subject, that would really help me out. 

Thank you very much. Reply

[peter]

(03-08-2024, 03:52 PM)Wolf Nuijten Wrote: Hello I'm Wolf Nuijten and I'm currently working on a school project for my senior year. I study product design and I want to make a product that scares animals away. I don't want my product to harm animals so guns are overruled. The animals I'm focusing on live in regions like Alaska, Canada and North-America. Currently I'm focusing on bears, deer and wolves. 

How do you prevent coming face to face with an animal? 
What to do if you come face to face? 
What do I need to bring if I'm going on hikes in regions like this?
How do I scare them away in general? 

If someone knows a lot about this subject, that would really help me out. 

Thank you very much.

I only found your post today, Wolf. A bit late. Sorry about that. Next time, contact a mod when you have a question, He can always help out. 

As to the question. 

Use Google to find more about Bart Schleyer. He was a brilliant biologist and a very experienced outdoorsman who preferred to hike on his own. Bart not only knew about the wild in Canada. He also was involved in the Siberian Tiger Project (STP). Find his contributions.  

When he returned to Canada, he picked up hiking. The last region he visited was the Yukon. When he didn't return, his friends alerted the authorities. They found his remains and got to a conclusion. His friends, not happy with the result of the search, also visited the site. Most, to keep it short, think Bart was killed and eaten by a bear, but nobody really knows.    

At YouTube, you can find a number of videos. Watch them and read the comments, especially those left by experienced outdoorsmen. Most of them said wild country is unpredictable at the best of times. Bart was as fit and experienced as they come, but he, apart from his bow, wasn't armed. He didn't need it, because of his experience. Remember Bart, after all, followed wild male Amur tigers out for bears in the snow and nothing ever happened. But three of some of his collegues (biologists) and a few rangers were injured by tigers.   

All in all, I'd say there are no devices to scare wild animals away. In wild regions and districts, anything is possible. Pepper spray has an effect, but not always. In the end, it's about knowledge, experience, fitness, being able to get to the right choices at the right moment, confidence and, most of all, luck. And even when you have all of that, there's always the bad day.  

I've been in wild regions. At times, I sensed the presence of wild animals. In at least two cases, I'm very sure I was watched and followed. Before visiting a wild place, I read everything available. I also talked to locals. I'm not going to say they knew next to nothing, but in the end it was close. Furthermore, one has to remember every individual is different. Not all are honest all the way. Maybe the experienced man informing you about the behaviour of wild animals didn't tell you he panicked when he met one that meant business. Maybe that particular animal didn't like him and maybe that animal acted very different when he met a man just enjoying a day out in the wild. 

If anything, I'd say it could be about intention. Although interested in wild animals, I never push my case. I don't do rifles, pepper spray, cameras, mobile phones and 'projects' that have to be concluded no matter what. If a wild animal wants to meet me, he'll let me know. At his terms. Not the other way round, because wild animals have very good reasons to be wary of humans. All experts will tell you to avoid direct eye contact with a wild animal. The reason is people are afraid of 'meeting' (confronting) a wild animal. This advice, however, might just as well turn against you. Animals, wild and captive, are able to pick up signs you're not aware of. If the one they meet shows fear, they might act on it. In the great majority of cases, fear is the cause of tension and accidents. That and the urge to be safe at all times. Even large and dangerous animals want to avoid problems. 

And then, when you survived countless confrontations and think you know all there is to know, you'll meet the wrong individual at the wrong time. Some animals, for some reason, decide to go for you when the situation suits them. They'll try to kill you. An ambush predator is very able, but a wolf or a bear needs more time. The only option is to fight and hope for the best, but chances are you'll be killed and eaten. That's still without animals you least expect, like deer. I'm not even going to try to describe the strength of a wild animal. Many people underestimate them, but they also underestimate their own ability at times. There are examples of people who were able to survive a life and death encounter with a large wild animal, but instances of this nature are few and very far between.       

Whatever you do, try to enjoy the natural world when you have the opportunity. You have every right to be there, but remember that's different from acting as you please. The natural world can be dangerous, but it doesn't even come close to the world of humans. Talk to those who know.   

And Bart Schleyer? He might have met with an accident. An accident that resulted in vulnarability. Maybe a predator was aware of his presence from day one and maybe it used the opportunity. In the Yukon brown bears in particular are considered very capable 'stalkers', but maybe a black bear was involved. Or a wolf. Few people know, but healthy wolves have attacked hikers and forest workers in Canada. In some parts of central Asia, humans are killed by wolves every year. 

Maybe Bart suffered from a heart condition and didn't know. When the body starts to change at, say, forty, a disease can suddenly develop. There are countless reports about otherwise fit and capable people collapsing during an event, never to rise again. Out of nowhere, friends and relatives often add.  

Maybe Bart was followed, or confronted, by a man with a rifle who made sure wild animals would be accused of the crime. Wild country has wild animals. And wild men. I'm not referring to Indians, but to people unable, or unwilling, to adapt to society. They have different rules and act on them. They enter and leave a village located in a wild district at will, often unseen. Most hunt wild animals without a permit, but others might hunt other game. I was warned about them in different regions. Wild men don't write books, but locals often know about them and so do rangers and officers. In spite of that, not a few biologists and rangers have been killed by poachers. Most of us think of wild animals when a man disappears or the remains of a body are found, but this is not always the case. In the days of the British Raj, those who knew wrote not a few 'victims' of man-eating tigers had been murdered by their fellow man. In remote regions in particular, many problems are solved the hard way. I assume you know wars (today) often attract 'tourists' prepared to pay very handsome fees to see the remnants of an unknown battle? Others, however, might want to get more 'active'. 

What I'm saying is you just never know in humans. In remote regions in particular, most people are friendly, but most isn't all and that's still without local witch doctors, fees, crocs and no bridges. One day, you might meet the wrong man at the wrong place. I know, as I was there. Local authorities often know about local problems, but that doesn't mean they're always competent and willing to help out. Most assume things are different in a western country, but that isn't always the case. Read books written by those who know (referring to statistics and case reports). In remote regions, things are not always what they seem to be.     

All in all, one, regarding Bart Schleyer, can only conclude it's all but impossible to get to a solid conclusion. We'll never know.           

When you really worry about wild animals, my advice is to stay away from them. And when you want to see them, find someone who knows about the natural world and wild animals. The most able are those who never heard about advertising. 

If you insist on something, you could decide for a stick about the length of your arm. It could confuse an animal (as three arms), but it also is as long as a rifle and a rifle is a weapon in the eyes of an animal. I never used one, but up to you.    

As to the 'product' you're developing. Remember the best 'product' by far is you, Wolf. Read a bit about intuition and how to develop and use it. Good luck. Reply