{"id":12307,"date":"2025-06-17T08:34:39","date_gmt":"2025-06-17T15:34:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/jasonsblog.ddns.net\/?p=12307"},"modified":"2025-06-17T08:34:39","modified_gmt":"2025-06-17T15:34:39","slug":"its-a-good-thing-california-doesnt-have-grizzlies-bear-spray-is-banned-there","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/jasonsblog.ddns.net\/index.php\/2025\/06\/17\/its-a-good-thing-california-doesnt-have-grizzlies-bear-spray-is-banned-there\/","title":{"rendered":"It\u2019s A Good Thing California Doesn\u2019t Have Grizzlies, Bear Spray Is Banned There"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

This article is kind of an example of bad reporting we have today, as they’re just talking about Yosemite National Park. I seem to remember it being illegal to have guns in the park when I last backpacked there<\/a>, though I always carried mine in my backpack so I could protect myself overnight, and I had bear spray in my backpack beverage pocket. No matter where you went in the back country of California, you always encountered people as the two legged animals were the worse threat. And some areas are heavily trafficked, and bears don’t last long, especially around the OHV 4×4 trails as a lot of those guys are armed, and drinking. There was a black bear that came through our campsite once, timid and fast, and the following weekend expecting him to return we heard a volley of gunshots from where the OHV guys camp in undeveloped areas, so no more black bear. Even if Grizzlies returned, they wouldn’t last, especially when they let their mismanaged forests burn up all over the place.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

https:\/\/cowboystatedaily.com\/2025\/06\/15\/its-a-good-thing-california-doesnt-have-grizzlies-bear-spray-is-banned-there\/<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n

<\/div><\/div><\/div>\n\n\n
While officials admonish hikers to carry bear spray in Wyoming\u2019s Yellowstone and Grand Teton National Parks, it\u2019s banned in California\u2019s Yosemite National Park.\u00a0They consider it a weapon and are worried people will spray each other with it.<\/h5>\n\n\n\n

Mark Heinz<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Don't
Don’t expect to see one of these stands in California. They consider bear spray a weapon and have banned it (Alamy photos)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

While officials admonish hikers to carry bear spray in Wyoming\u2019s Yellowstone and Grand Teton national parks, it\u2019s banned in California\u2019s Yosemite National Park. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The National Park Service (NPS) classifies bear spray as a weapon in Yosemite and enforces the ban there. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Given the immense crowds that pile into that park, California officials were worried about tourists misusing bear spray against wildlife in situations where animals weren\u2019t really a threat. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

There were also concerns about park visitors getting into fights and using it against each other, according to news reports. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

You Can Have A Gun, But Not Bear Spray Or A Spear <\/h2>\n\n\n\n

According to federal law, people who may legally own firearms can possess them in Yosemite. Firearms are still banned in certain facilities in the park, and it\u2019s illegal to shoot them there. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

That mirrors regulations in Yellowstone National Park, where legal firearms owners can have their guns but may not legally shoot them, even to defend themselves against an attacking grizzly<\/a>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

But \u201cother weapons\u201d are prohibited in Yosemite, and the NPS categorizes bear spray as a \u201cweapon\u201d in that regard. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The agency\u2019s Yosemite regulations website lists it in the same category as \u201cpellet guns, BB guns, bows and arrows, crossbows, blowguns, spearguns, hand-thrown spears, slingshots, explosive devices or any other implements designed to discharge missiles.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Given the ban on bear spray in Yosemite, it\u2019s probably a good thing that California doesn\u2019t have grizzlies, said an outdoorswoman who has hiked extensively in both Yosemite and Yellowstone. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIn Yellowstone, definitely, I carry it (bear spray) everywhere,\u201d Beth Pratt told Cowboy State Daily. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"A
A roadside sign in Yosemite National Park in California warns visitors to be on the lookout for black bears. Bear spray isn\u2019t allowed inside the park. (Courtesy Beth Pratt)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Doesn\u2019t Really Miss Bear Spray In Yosemite <\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Pratt lives near the southwest entrance to Yosemite. She previously lived and worked in and around Yellowstone National Park as well as elsewhere in Wyoming and Montana, where grizzlies are plentiful. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Bear spray has been banned for years in national parks in California, although it\u2019s still allowed in state parks and in national forests there. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Pratt said black bears and mountain lions are plentiful in Wyoming. In fact, she\u2019s frequently spotted both species in her backyard. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

However, she feels safe while solo hiking in her home state, even without bear spray. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cTo me, it\u2019s not that big of a worry,\u201d she said. \u201cIt\u2019s certainly not something that\u2019s been on my radar as something I\u2019ve missed here.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

While there\u2019s never \u201czero risk\u201d with black bears, they tend to be shy and far less aggressive than grizzlies, she said. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

She said that mountain lions are good at not being seen. And on the rare occasions they do attack people, they\u2019re \u201cstealth predators,\u201d so it\u2019s likely a person would never see the big cat coming in time to pull out their bear spray. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Grizzlies are another matter, so it\u2019s wise to carry a defense mechanism in grizzly country, Pratt said, and she considers bear spray to be \u201cthe best tool\u201d for that. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

California Grizzlies A Thing Of The Past<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

California also once had thousands of grizzly bears and has the image of grizzly on its state flag. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

But when settlers started flooding into California during the 1849 Gold Rush, they didn\u2019t take kindly to grizzlies and started killing them every chance they got. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

California grizzlies were wiped out by the early 20th<\/sup> century. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

There\u2019s been some talk of bringing grizzlies back, including a recent study suggesting that the state could sustain nearly 1,200 grizzlies<\/a>, but state wildlife managers said that will likely never happen.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/plugins\/video.php?height=314&href=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.facebook.com%2Fbethpratt1%2Fvideos%2F926577454973615%2F&show_text=false&width=560&t=0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2018Cranky\u2019 Elk<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Through her work with the Wildlife Crossing Fun, Pratt promotes wildlife crossings<\/a> to cut down on the number of animals getting hit by vehicles on highways across the West. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

She also worked on the Keep Bears Wild program in Yosemite, which previously had terrible problems with black bears breaking into vehicles to get food. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Like most problems with wildlife, that was actually \u201ca people problem,\u201d so it was a matter of educating park visitors on how to properly store food, she said. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Likewise, she acknowledged how concern over people problems led to the bear spray ban in Yosemite. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWith the city-sized crowds\u201d in Yosemite, \u201cI can see how it could go south\u201d if bear spray was allowed there, she said. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

While she was grateful to be allowed to carry bear spray while hiking in Yellowstone, she said it was elk, not grizzlies, that worried her the most. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe animals that had me most on edge were the elk,\u201d she said. \u201cThey were notoriously cranky.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Those worries aren\u2019t unfounded. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

There are frequent run-ins between people and elk in Estes Park, Colorado. There, elk from Rocky Mountain National Park sometimes move in and practically take over the town. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

There were two reports of young children being stomped by angry cow elk<\/a> in Estes Park last year. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

In both instances, the children were taken to hospitals, treated and released the same day.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

This article is kind of an example of bad reporting we have today, as they’re just talking about Yosemite National Park. I seem to remember it being illegal to have guns in the park when I last backpacked there, though I always carried mine in my backpack so I could protect myself overnight, and I […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7,31],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-12307","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-world","category-wyoming"],"blocksy_meta":[],"featured_image_src":null,"author_info":{"display_name":"Jason","author_link":"https:\/\/jasonsblog.ddns.net\/index.php\/author\/jturning\/"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/jasonsblog.ddns.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12307","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/jasonsblog.ddns.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/jasonsblog.ddns.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jasonsblog.ddns.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jasonsblog.ddns.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=12307"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/jasonsblog.ddns.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12307\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":12308,"href":"https:\/\/jasonsblog.ddns.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12307\/revisions\/12308"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/jasonsblog.ddns.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=12307"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jasonsblog.ddns.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=12307"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jasonsblog.ddns.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=12307"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}