Will an Air Horn Scare a Bear?

Bears are the largest North American predators, and a common sight in certain parts of the United States and throughout Canada. Though most bears interactions with people do not result in any injury, these formidable animals are nonetheless intimidating, and will sometimes attack people, especially prevalent when a mother with cubs is surprised.

Due to loss of habitat and lessening fear of humans (thanks to consistent, irresponsible feedings) close contact is becoming more frequent between bears and human beings, so knowing what to do in case a bear is getting too close for comfort or acting aggressively is critical.

Bear spray is a popular option, but one item that is gaining traction in some circles is a specialized “bear” horn, little more than a rebranded air horn.

Can an air horn scare off a bear? Anecdotal evidence suggests that air horns can frighten off both black bears and brown bears. Many animals are startled and repelled by loud, calamitous noises, and bears are no different. The piercing shriek of an air horn is significantly louder than anything they encounter in nature, save perhaps a near strike of lightning. Used in conjunction with other defensive techniques, an air horn might preclude the use of any measures which could be injurious to the bear.

The remainder of this article we will talk about a few additional considerations for employing an air horn as a bear deterrent in to other defensive precautions for dealing with these powerful ursids.

Close Encounters with the Bear Menace

Bears are not truly a menace, but they can be quite menacing when they draw close! Both black and brown bears can reach substantial sizes, are highly intelligent and very powerful, with impressive teeth and long, rending claws crowning each large paw. Brown bears in particular are quite large, standing over eight feet tall on their hind legs.

Humans will typically encounter bears in one of a couple of ways. When areas where black bears frequent and human habitation butts up against one another, black bears will regularly raid dumpsters, trash cans and all kinds of containers (including vehicles) in search of food. They quickly lose their fear of people in quest of calories.

Brown bears are often encountered in national parks and other places that they frequent, where irresponsible tourists feed them deliberately, with handouts, or incidentally, by failing to secure campsite foodstuffs. This results in bears getting ample amounts of easy, tasty human food.

These bears will quickly associate humans with food, and those will begin to frequent areas where humans are commonly encountered. Neither of these interactions are good, and both have the potential to end in tragedy.

In more remote natural settings, bears may be encountered anywhere in their habitat, but frequently near water sources and the sites of fresh kills or animal carcasses that they are scavenging.

A mother bear that is traveling with cubs is particularly apt to become aggressive as cubs are often inquisitive of people, and any perceived threat will provoke the mother to murderous rage. A bear that is surprised when hikers are traversing through its territory might also decide to attack instead of flee.

No matter how a bear is encountered and under what circumstances, you must be ready to respond appropriately if the bear shows signs of aggression.

Repulse the Bear if You Can

Bears can be scared off of a potential attack through a variety of methods. One common method is to group up with any other people you are with in order to prevent the appearance of a larger, more powerful animal. Waving or raising your arms can give the impression of a defensive or aggressive posture, just the thing to make a bear think twice.

This is an ideal situation to use your air horn if you have it. Several sharp glass of the air horn will certainly start over there and likely get him to run away, and it also has the secondary benefit of alerting other people in the area that there is danger nearby.

It is worth mentioning that any air horn system you choose to employ will require periodic inspection and maintenance. Horns powered by compressed gas may slowly lose pressure over time, and will lose efficacy with repeated firings.

Don’t needlessly sound the horn until you need it once you are sure it is functional, or else you might get a ‘toot’ when you need a piercing blast and a toot is likely not going to affect the bear!

Even electronic bear horns or sirens require maintenance, as these devices require battery power or recharging to function. The joke will definitely be on you when Boo Boo is bearing down on you and your electronic horn is all out of juice!

A Horn Might Repel but It is Not a True Defense!

It must be said that any air horn, no matter how effective it might be, will only ever work if the bear changes his mind about attacking. It does not hurt the bear, and it does not ward off the bear in such a way that he has no choice in the matter, a-la a firearm.

The bear hears a loud noise, thinks the better of the situation, and decides to run: That is the equation. If the bear is not impressed by the loud noise, or decides to persist in spite of it you are going to have a problem.

In this way, air horns might fall short even were other non-lethal options like bear spray (OC sprays) would work better. Bear spray works by giving a bear a ferocious pain incentive to discontinue what he is doing.

Never mind the fact that the bear is not taking any real damage, at the instant he gets dosed he perceives he is, and that will incentivize him to retreat. All your air horn can hope to do is startle the bear, or make him uncertain about the situation.

It’s for this reason that bears that are commonly encountered near vehicles might be inoculated against an air horn’s effect; chances are they have plenty of horns blown at them when they draw too near two vehicles, and many such bears persist in spite of them. Keep this in mind before betting the farm on an air horn if you are traveling in Bear Country.

Bear Horns are Best as a Layered Defense

Air horns are probably at their best as part of a layered defense plan, meaning you are not relying solely upon the horn to keep yourself safe from the bear. An air horn might be your first response when a bear is sighted at a distance, but still too close for comfort.

A couple of blasts from the horn might be all that is needed to send him scurrying in the other direction without coming any closer. If the bear does draw closer, at that point you could rely on something like bear spray or even a firearm depending on the situation.

Using this methodology, if all goes well you will not have to deploy anything that will hurt the bear in any fashion, and also don’t need to risk letting the bear come close in order to effectively utilize a more effective defensive implement. Definitely consider the tandem approach for your next outing in an area where bears might be present.

Conclusion

Air horns are a reasonably effective deterrent against bears, as they and many other animals are liable to be startled by such a loud and piercing sound.

However, they do not give the bear much in the way of a serious incentive to stop their behavior compared to something like bear spray, and it is likely that bears exposed to similar loud noises, like car horns, will be less affected by them. Keep this in mind, and make use of a backup option in case the horn fails to deter the bear.