Despite campfire fears dating back to at least 1967, black bears and grizzly bears are not attracted to the odors of menstruation, according to a recent Yellowstone National Park
Yellowstone National Park
Yellowstone National Park is an American national park located in Wyoming, Montana, and Idaho. It was established by the U.S. Congress and signed into law by President Ulysses S. Grant on March 1, 1872. Yellowstone was the first national park in the U.S. and is also widely held to be the first nati…
Are polar bears attracted to menstruation?
This suggests that polar bears are attracted to odors associated with menstrual blood. Herrero (1985) analyzed the circumstances of hundreds of grizzly bear attacks on humans, including the attacks on the two women in GNP, and concluded that there was no evidence linking menstruation to any of the attacks.
Do Bears like menstrual blood?
The one exception to bears' disinterest in menstrual blood was the polar bear, the Yellowstone report finds. A 1983 study found that four captive polar bears exposed to a series of scents responded strongly only to seal smells and used tampons.
Are polar bears attracted to human blood?
Cushing (1983) also reported that free-ranging polar bears detected and consumed food scent samples and used tampons, but ignored non-menstrual human blood and unused tampons. This suggests that polar bears are attracted to odors associated with menstrual blood.
Do black bears attack menstruating women?
In one of these studies, conducted in 1991, researches exposed black bears, the most common kind of bear in the United States, to used tampons and to four menstruating women. They found no interest among any of the bears to the scents. Nor have researchers found any examples of black bears attacking menstruating women.
How to get rid of bears during menstruation?
What attracts bears to a campsite?
How many people were injured by bears in YNP?
How to keep bears away from camp?
How many overnight stays are there at YNP?
How far above the ground should you hang tampons?
How to reduce the risk of bears?
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So You've Heard Period Blood Attracts Bears, Here's Where That Myth ...
It's known as the Night of the Grizzlies. Over fifty years ago, two women were killed by two different grizzly bears on the same night. The repercussions of the incident can still be seen in the way bears are managed today.
Do Women On Their Period Attract Bears? New Study Busts This Myth
Results were not so cut-and-dry when it came to polar bears, however. A 1983 study found that four captive polar bears elicited a strong response when presented with menstrual odors.
What happened in 1967?
That goes back to one fateful night in 1967: the Night of the Grizzlies. "There was two attacks in Glacier National Park where two different women were killed by two different grizzly bears on the same night," said Kerry Gunther, the bear biologist for Yellowstone National Park (YNP). He said the attacks caused the National Park Service ...
What did Gunther say about bears?
Gunther said that meant converting garbage cans and dumpsters into bear-resistant designs, installing food storage boxes in roadside campgrounds and hanging poles for backcountry spots, as well as strictly enforcing regulations that prohibited hand-feeding beers, something once regularly seen in the park.
What is the night of the grizzlies?
It's known as the Night of the Grizzlies. Over fifty years ago, two women were killed by two different grizzly bears on the same night. The repercussions of the incident can still be seen in the way bears are managed today. But it also gave birth to a powerful myth—it's dangerous for women to spend time in the woods while menstruating.
What is the Mountain West News Bureau?
Mountain West News Bureau. Wyoming Public Media is among the founding partners of the Mountain West News Bureau, a collaboration of public media stations that serve the Rocky Mountain States of Colorado, Idaho, Nevada, New Mexico, Utah and Wyoming. Our mission is to tell stories about the people, places and issues of the Rocky Mountain West.
Is Seelie a hiker?
Seelie is an avid hiker. Before her own reporting, she was pretty sure that being out in bear country while menstruating was dangerous. "It's also part of the menstruation taboo that is in our culture, and this weird fear of menstruation and of menstruating women," she said.
Did a mama bear runsacked Yellowstone?
While he was away, a mama bear and her cub had ransacked the camp. Bear encounters were rare at the time since the number of bears in Yellowstone's ecosystem was low. That's why a special agent came all the way from Colorado to investigate. "He was aghast that women were working in the back country where there were bears," said Byrd.
Can women use tampons instead of pads?
But the website also says women can take precautions if they're concerned, like using tampons instead of pads.
How many bears did Smith test?
But as Smith points out in his book, the tests were limited to four bears and only 12 encounters with live, menstruating women. The bears were also much less interested in menstrual blood than any sort of food scent, eating used tampons half of the time they smelled them compared with 100 percent of the time for seafood and 92 percent of the time for seal oil. Even alcohol was more palatable to the polar bears than used tampons. They guzzled down beer 66 percent of the time. (They also ate unused tampons 13 percent of the time.)
What kind of bears are used for tampons?
In one of these studies, conducted in 1991, researches exposed black bears, the most common kind of bear in the United States, to used tampons and to four menstruating women. They found no interest among any of the bears to the scents.
What happened in Montana in 1967?
In 1967, a night of infamous grizzly bear attacks in Glacier National Park in Montana left two women dead. One woman was having her period, and the other was carrying tampons. The attacks led to speculation that the women's menstrual odors might have "triggered" the attacks.
What are the two bears involved in the attack?
The two bears involved in those attacks were what biologists called "food conditioned," according to "Backcountry Bear Basics: The Definitive Guide to Avoiding Unpleasant Encounters" (Mountaineers Books, 2006) by Dave Smith. These bears were used to eating garbage and had begun to associate humans with food.
Do bears like menstrual odor?
Despite campfire fears dating back to at least 1967, black bears and grizzly bears are not attracted to the odors of menstruation, according to a recent Yellowstone National Park report. Polar bears may be interested in the smell of menstrual blood, the report found, but bears that roam in North America are not.
What is Stephanie's degree?
Stephanie has a Bachelor of Arts in psychology from the University of South Carolina and a graduate certificate in science communication from the University of California, Santa Cruz.
Does Yellowstone have bear attacks?
At Yellowstone Park, the report concludes, there is no evidence of a link between bear attacks and menstruation. Nevertheless, the Park Service recommends using tampons instead of external pads and unscented menstrual products to keep potentially appealing odors down.
What are the conclusions of the NPS paper?
The NPS paper gleaned its conclusions from separate studies performed on grizzly bears, black bears and polar bears. For grizzly bears, hundreds of attacks on humans were analyzed, finding no link between menstruation and the attacks.
Do grizzly bears like menstrual odors?
According to researcher Kerry A. Gunther, who wrote the paper: "There is no evidence that grizzly and black bears are overly attracted to menstrual odors more than any other odor."
Do polar bears eat tampons?
Results were not so cut-and-dry when it came to polar bears, however. A 1983 study found that four captive polar bears elicited a strong response when presented with menstrual odors. That study also reported that wild polar bears were found to consume used tampons, while ignoring unused tampons.
Is bear attack a myth?
Even so, the unjustified spread of the menstruation/bear attack myth, in spite of the lack of corroborating evidence, raises concerns that old stereotypes regarding women, the outdoors, and the National Park Service have not gone away. As pointed out by one magazine, the persistence of the myth has reinforced the stereotype that women are not as suited for survival in the wilderness as men. It implies that the wilderness is a masculine domain, and that a woman's place is indoors — for her own safety, of course.
Do bears attack menstrual women?
Women who might think twice about a summer trip to a national park can now officially rest assured: it turns out that menstrual odors do not attract bear attacks, according to a paper by the National Park Service.
Did women interpret in historical parks?
According to an official NPS 1962 report, “women [ (and people of color) were seen] as competent to be interpret ers in historical parks, but not in the military or traditional ‘national’ parks where the prevailing ethic still saw a uniformed ranger as a white male.”.
Is the wilderness masculine or feminine?
It implies that the wilderness is a masculine domain, and that a woman’s place is indoors — for her own safety, of course.
Do grizzly bears have periods?
Nor are grizzly bears interested in women having their periods. A 1985 analysis of hundreds of grizzly bear attacks on humans found no evidence linking any of the attacks to menstruation — including the infamous "Night of the Grizzlies" attacks in Glacier. The two bears involved in those attacks were what biologists called "food conditioned," according to "Backcountry Bear Basics: The Definitive Guide to Avoiding Unpleasant Encounters" (Mountaineers Books, 2006) by Dave Smith. These bears were used to eating garbage and had begun to associate humans with food.
Do bears like menstrual odors?
Despite campfire fears dating back to at least 1967, black bears and grizzly bears are not attracted to the odors of menstruation, according to a recent Yellowstone National Park report.
How many bears were exposed to women?
Twenty-six bears were presented with used tampons from 26 women, and 20 bear s were exposed to four menstruating women at different days of their flow. None of the bears, regardless of age or sex, showed interest in the tampons or women.
Did grizzlies have tampons in their backpacks?
One woman was menstruating and the other had tampons in her backpack (investigators said she was expecting her period soon). Although officials concluded that unprotected food and trash were to blame, the general public speculated that grizzlies were targeting menstruating females.
What is a meatcrafter knife?
The Essential Meatcrafter Knife. A hybrid hunting fixed blade with a fine, smooth edge to trim, debone, or slice your preferred cuts of meat. Makes just as much sense in the back of your truck as it does in the kitchen drawer. First Lite.
Do polar bears smell like tampons?
In a 1983 study, four captive polar bears were presented with a series of different odors (including used tampons, non-menstrual blood, food scents, and seal scents). Scientists reported that the bears had a “strong behavioral response” to used tampons and seal scents, but not much else. The team collected similar data on wild polar bears, reporting that the bears easily detected used tampons, but ignored non-menstrual human blood and unused tampons.
Is it inappropriate to have a bear attack on your menstrual cycle?
Even Bruce Cushing, the lead researcher from the polar bear study, warned that making the jump from menstruation attracting bears to menstruation causing bear attacks is inappropriate. “We must avoid drawing the simple conclusion that attacks upon menstruating women will occur,” Cushing wrote.
Do grizzlies eat humans?
This claim more so speaks to bear mythology and menstrual taboos. Grizzlies aren’t out there looking to eat humans, and periods aren’t like a scene from the movie “Carrie.”. Every outdoorsperson should properly dispose of food, carry bear spray, and be bear aware when on the mountain, regardless of time of the month.
Is there any evidence linking menstruation to a grizzly bear attack?
Facts. A 1985 study that analyzed hundreds of grizzly bear attacks on humans (including the women in Glacier National Park) found no evidence linking menstruation to any incident.
Can wolves and coyotes smell menstrual blood?
Both wolves and coyotes have the ability to smell menstrual blood, but they are unlikely to be attracted to menstrual blood because its composition is different from body blood, and these canids do not recognize humans as potential prey.
Why do iguanas smell blood?
There is a theory that the smell of menstrual blood resembles that of a female iguana during courtship and that is why male iguanas may act aggressively in anticipation of a menstruating female.
Why do predators attract blood?
It should be taken into account that the reaction that triggers attraction in predatory animals to blood is their instinct to hunt wounded or weakened animals which are common prey for predators, menstrual blood is not a product of wounds and therefore its composition is different from body blood, and humans are nature’s top predators and are not common prey.
What sense do animals have?
Animals are able to distinguish prey, challenge, or threat through their sense of smell , their sense of smell and instinct is too well developed to mistake a menstruating human being.
How is E2D liberated?
The molecule is liberated when lipids in the blood are broken down after contact with air. The researchers succeeded in separating the E2D from the blood and diluting it to a ratio of 1 ppt (one part per trillion). This corresponds to a single drop of the molecule in a pool the size of a
How much blood do you lose during your period?
First of all, the amount of blood you lose during your period is very small. On average, you only lose about one espresso cup of period fluid per period.
Which organ is able to sense menstrual blood?
The animals that are able to perceive the smell of menstrual blood are those that have a super-developed sense of smell, these animals possess Jacobson’s organ, also known as the vomeronasal organ.
How to get rid of bears during menstruation?
Use internal tampons instead of external pads. Do not bury tampons or pads (pack it in - pack it out). A bear may smell buried tampons or pads and dig them up. By providing bears a small food "reward", this action may attract bears to other menstruating women.
What attracts bears to a campsite?
Also, burning of any garbage is odorous and may attract bears to your campsite. Many feminine products are heavily scented. Use only unscented or lightly scented items. Cosmetics, perfumes, and deodorants are unnecessary and may act as an attractant to bears.
How many people were injured by bears in YNP?
From 1979 through 2018, 50 people were injured by bears (41 by grizzly bear, 6 by black bear, and 3 by bears where the species was not identified) within YNP, ...
How to keep bears away from camp?
Follow food storage regulations and recommendations so you can avoid attracting a bear into your camp with other odors. All odorous items that may attract bears, including food, cooking and food storage gear, toiletries, and garbage, must be kept secured from bears. Proper methods for storing bear attractants include: 1.) in a vehicle (the trunk of a car or cab of a truck), 2.) in a solid camping trailer that is constructed of non-pliable material (never in a tent or tent trailer), 3.) in a food storage box (provided at many campgrounds), or 4.) suspended at least 10 feet above the ground and 4 feet horizontally from the tree trunk.
How many overnight stays are there at YNP?
During the 40 year period from 1979 through 2018, more than 118 million visits to YNP were recorded. These visitors spent over 26 million over night stays camping in developed area roadside campgrounds, and over 1.6 million overnight stays camping in remote backcountry areas of the park. Although actual statistics are not available, ...
How far above the ground should you hang tampons?
This means hung at least 10 feet above the ground and 4 feet from the tree trunk.
How to reduce the risk of bears?
You can reduce the risks by: 1) hiking in groups of 3 or more people, 2) staying vigilant for bears, 3) making noise in areas of poor visibility, 4) carrying bear spray and being proficient with its use, 5) staying on maintained, designated hiking trails, and, 6) not running during encounters with bears.
