The technical answer to this question would be yes but you could also “use” bear spray against a brick wall if you wanted to. The real question should be “Is bear spray effective against a moose?”. Another obvious follow up question to this would be whether moose in Alaska are aggressive or a threat. We know that bears can be aggressive and are a threat otherwise they wouldn’t call it “bear spray”. But are other animals in Alaska also problematic? Let’s look at the data/facts and let that guide us to a conclusion for these questions…
Is Bear Spray Effective Against Other Animals?
To answer this question you would need to know how bear spray works. Bear spray is a deterrent. It is not a repellant like mosquito repellant. The primary or active ingredient in bear spray is red pepper oil or you may also hear the term capsaicin used to describe this ingredient. It is highly concentrated and, when sprayed, made into a fine aerosol that irritates and inflames the eyes, nose, and upper respiratory system of the unlucky being on the receiving end of the spray. For an animal like a bear, that has a very keen sense of smell (2,100 times better than a human), it will literally overwhelm their eyes, nose, ears, and lungs causing an inflammatory response that irritates and distracts the bear from whatever it is doing (usually a charge). The effects are temporary but are intended to give you a chance to get away from the situation while the bear is dealing with the sudden irritants that are overwhelming their system. So to answer the question, “Is bear spray effective against other animals?“, the answer to this would obviously be yes since any other mammal (like a moose, wolf, cougar, sheep, etc.) would also likely have the same inflammatory and irritant response when encountering bear spray. This is not just our opinion but a fact supported by a number of credible establishments like the Be Bear Aware Campaign, the Interagency Grizzly Bear Committee, and the National Park Service.
Are Other Animals a Threat?
Bears are the obvious apex predator in Alaska and I doubt that anyone would disagree with the need for a bear deterrent like bear spray. Although, as a quick side note, most attacks from bears in Alaska are not predatory in nature (e.g. they don’t want to eat you) but are more of a defensive attack. In addition to bears the other predators in Alaska include wolves, lynx, cougars, coyotes, and foxes. While these other animals are technically classified as predators, documented cases of attacks from these other predators are extremely rare or non-existent. The only statistic we could find for any of these other animals in Alaska were three wolf attacks in 1942, 1943, and 2010. What about other animals? Are non-predatory animals a threat? The surprising answer to this question is yes. While a non-predatory animal is not going to attack you as a food source (they don’t want to eat you), they can attack you in a defensive manner like most bear attacks. The surprising statistic on this is that each year more people are injured by moose then by bears. Part of the reason for this is that there are just a lot more moose in Alaska compared to the number of bears. But why would a moose attack a human? There are a number of reasons but a moose will become aggressive if they are harassed and feel threatened or if they are protecting their young. A common reason for moose attacks in unknowingly getting between a cow moose and their calf or just unknowingly getting too close to a calf. Every animal in Alaska, or anywhere for that matter, is wild and can be somewhat unpredictable, aggressive, and a potential threat. So the answer to the question in this section is a resounding yes. Other animals, specifically the Alaskan moose, can be a threat to humans.
Carry Deterrent!
While no deterrent is 100% effective against any threat; bear spray, when used properly, can be an effective deterrent against both bears and other animals that are acting aggressively towards you. The Alaskan wilderness is a beautiful place to explore and experience but you have to remember that you are a visitor to this area and to the animals that live there they consider it their home. Therefore, be educated on the methods and ways to avoid escalation or bad encounters with animals but be prepared by carrying bear spray and know how to use it should it become necessary. Of course, we are happy to supply you with bear spray while you are visiting.
Data and facts for this article were derived from the following sources:
Be Bear Aware Campaign
US National Park System
Alaska Department of Fish and Game
Interagency Grizzly Bear Committee
