FOIA Find: Russian Experience with Bear Spray and Polar Bear

Wrangel Island near center, at about 71 degrees north latitude

A Russian security man's use of bear spray with a polar bear makes an amusing story with serious lessons. The incident was recorded by Anatoly Kochnev in 1993. It was uncovered as part of the Polar Bear-Human Information Management System database (PBHIMS) with a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) by AmmoLand. Further investigation revealed the live-journal blog where the original account was recorded.

Attempting to use bear spray to discourage a persistent young male polar bear had unpleasant results for the people involved. No one was seriously injured.

The incident happened on Wrangel Island on September 4, 1993. A computer translator from Russian to English appears to have been used to put the account in the PBHIMS. Use of the original Russian account and several translators allowed the resolution of some minor ambiguities. The names are probably not correct, as they are spelled in different ways by different translations.

In September of 1993, Japanese film makers were filming polar bears on Wrangel Island. Wrangel Island is part of Russia with a checkered history, in the Chukchi sea. It has a large concentration of polar bears for several months each year, and an even larger concentration of tens of thousands of walrus. The polar bears arrive in significant concentrations to feed on dead walrus, walrus calves, and stranded whales. Polar bear cubs are often the target of dominant boars (male bears).

It is very difficult to obtain permits to visit the island. Visitors are not allowed to have firearms. In 1993, Japanese filmmakers were able to bring in bear spray. Flare guns were allowed. Huts on the island were left over from previous occupants, and are heavily fortified against polar bears. The bears tend to be less aggressive because enough food is available to prevent starvation. One website claims the Island is used for Russian military exercises, and Russian military personnel occasionally kill bears.

The relevant report has been lightly edited to make for easier reading and to clarify a few mistranslations. Ivanitch is the Russian security man. Kenomaru is from the Japanese film crew. The remote camera was about 400 meters from the cabin where most of the action occurs.

In the evening a young male bear appeared on the Doubtful Spit. He did not pose in front of the remote camera, but immediately started to break it. What I, in principle, warned the Japanese about ... The cost of the camera was considerable, so Ivanitch and Kenomaru rushed to rescue it. They successfully took it away from the bear. He managed to bite through the enclosure, but the camera remained operational. 

The bear did not calm down. As soon as it got dark and Ivanich cooked supper, the animal went up to the cabin and began drumming with its front paws on the metal roof. The roar was terrifying, the rooms were shaking. 

Then Ivanitch got the idea to try pepper spray. He took the can, removed the safety catch from the lever, stood near the door and began to wait for the bear to get tired of knocking on the roof. Indeed, the bear quickly got bored of the entertainment, and he went around the cabin, sniffing noisily. When the sounds of air being drawn into the nostrils approached the door, Ivanitch opened a small gap and sprayed. And it began!

A small gust of wind sent almost all of the spray back into the cabin. Everything was filled with pepper mist. Kenomaru and Ivanitch did not stay inside for long. The pepper burned the skin and eyes. After a few minutes the experimenters jumped out screaming, fell into the snow and began rubbing their eyes. The danger of falling into a bear's clutches was ignored because no one thought about the beast. As soon as Ivanitch walked away a little, he immediately fired a flare. In its light, the figure of a bear appeared, which stood a few meters away and gazed at the circus performance in bewilderment. The flare made him leave the spectacle at a quick gallop.

After the occupants recovered and managed to air out the cabin, Ivanitch needed to urinate. He left the cabin, but forgot his fingers were contaminated with bear spray. The skin of private parts is sensitive, particularly to hot peppers. Many people who have eaten hot peppers with their bare fingers know what happened next.  The pain can be considerable. Most of the lotions available in the first aid kit arrived the next morning, in an attempt to ease the pain.

In the comments, the recorder of the incident is asked if the bear spray caused the bear to leave. He emphatically states, no, it was the weird behavior of the humans. This makes some sense, as polar bears tend to be cautious about taking prey they are unfamiliar with. Any serious injury  to a bear is likely to cause death through starvation.

This humorous incident shows the danger of using bear spray in an enclosed space. If the polar bear had been a bit more hungry or less cautions, the incident could have had a tragic ending.

©2024 by Dean Weingarten: Permission to share is granted when this notice and link are included.

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