The number of bear sightings has risen in Estonia, and so has demand for bear repellent spray; some hunting equipment stores have even sold out, ERR News found.
Private forest owners and the State Forest Management Centre (RMK) plant around 40 million saplings in logged-over forest areas every year. Workers sometimes spend several days in the forest and do not make much noise. Snakebite treatment kits and long-range pepper spray are part of their standard equipment. In recent years, forest planters have been reporting more and more bear sightings.
Forest planter Rivo Võigas, who works in Pärnu County, told the Aktuaalne kaamera program on the 25th of May that he also brought a whistle. He said he had seen hares, bears and moose, but it was the bears that scared him the most. In one case, the bear passed about 40 meters from the workers, but fortunately went on its way. Veigas said that he and his colleagues did not run away in fear, but began to slowly retreat.
The bear repellent spray is effective up to ten meters and is available at hunting supply stores. However, the demand is so high that it is currently difficult to find. Kalev Kuzmin, an employee of the Jahipauna hunting store, said that the sprays were sold out because they are called bear repellent sprays, and the store had only the self-defense canisters left.
Both types of canisters are filled with pepper spray, and the only difference is the range.
Bears usually do not attack people unless they are protecting their cubs. Therefore, the bear family should be left alone, and one should avoid getting between the female bear and her cubs. The animals can also be attracted to places of residence and camps by food left out. An angry animal may also attack. Kuzmin pointed out that pepper spray can be useful in this case, which can be sprayed up to ten meters away. If you manage to blow it into the animal’s eyes, it simply will not see who to attack.
The Estonian Hunters’ Association has indicated that the main rule is to remain calm and not panic.
To avoid attracting bears, one should not leave leftover food near home or camp site, and one should make noise when moving in the forest. Loud talking, clapping hands, breaking dry branches give the opportunity for bear to hear people in time, and the bear has the opportunity to leave the area.
The greatest danger can be if bear cubs come across on the way. Then one should immediately retreat in the direction from which the person came. You should also not approach the carcasses of dead animals, as bears aggressively protect their prey.
If a bear wanders into a yard, one should try to scare it away by shouting loudly and making noise. The animals tend to come near houses in search of easily obtained food. Therefore, although bears are usually active at dusk and at night, in the summer one should also be careful during the day, as they tend to look for ripe berries and stay near oat fields.
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