Bright lights VS aggressive animals?

I have always wondered about this. A disorientation strobe or even a nice constant strobe must be enough to put most animals off. I have never had the opportunity to try it out. And i don't want to try it on my cat because i kinda like my cat. I grew up in high desert Nevada and i am back here for a while. The Mountain Lions seem to be having a good year. I am not particularly worried. I generally dont think much about them and i trust my Fight-Or-Flight. I cant imagine them getting aggressive, so this is mostly theoretical. Bears are fairly foreign to me but they are a part of some of my missions out of state. I guess i am thinking about this because i cant really run 3 miles in 17 minutes since my injury.
Anyways, i was wondering if any of your outdoorsy types have had any encounters where you were able to blast a critter in the face with 1000 lumens and could judge the animals reaction. Or if anybody could site a study on this.

Been on many a night hunts. But never had any aggressive encounters. Almost all nonaggressive, either froze like a statue or turned and scurried off. I would be curious to hear of any of our members had aggressive animals attack while they were armed with mega lumens. If they are still with us. hehe

Not quite the same sort of thing you're talking about, but I had an aggressive dog come at me when I tried to enter a yard a night once, growling and barking. I can't be sure it would have attacked me, but it made me wary. I strobed it, and the dog went quiet and then sat. It seemed like the dog was confused, but I don't know how you'd judge that properly. In hindsight, I think the same thing might have been achieved just by shining an intense light at the dog, but I didn't try that so I'll never know.

matt4350 said:

Not quite the same sort of thing you're talking about, but I had an aggressive dog come at me when I tried to enter a yard a night once, growling and barking. I can't be sure it would have attacked me, but it made me wary. I strobed it, and the dog went quiet and then sat. It seemed like the dog was confused, but I don't know how you'd judge that properly. In hindsight, I think the same thing might have been achieved just by shining an intense light at the dog, but I didn't try that so I'll never know.

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Thats a great first person example. I would think the outback is a little scarier, but maybe just because its totally foreign to me. Again i am not too worried, just curious. Good story though. Man i wish i had a bright light on the island of Maui. I stalked around the jungle at night and i thought i would die more than once when encountered by the local Pitbull/mastiff mix type dogs. I have fought one and i can't hurt them without a weapon, its scary. Dogs generally dont bark and bite in the same encounter, and those dogs didnt say much, they just got to work. People are similar haha.

Sphinxxx said:

I have always wondered about this. A disorientation strobe or even a nice constant strobe must be enough to put most animals off. I have never had the opportunity to try it out. And i don't want to try it on my cat because i kinda like my cat. I grew up in high desert Nevada and i am back here for a while. The Mountain Lions seem to be having a good year. I am not particularly worried. I generally dont think much about them and i trust my Fight-Or-Flight. I cant imagine them getting aggressive, so this is mostly theoretical. Bears are fairly foreign to me but they are a part of some of my missions out of state. I guess i am thinking about this because i cant really run 3 miles in 17 minutes since my injury.
Anyways, i was wondering if any of your outdoorsy types have had any encounters where you were able to blast a critter in the face with 1000 lumens and could judge the animals reaction. Or if anybody could site a study on this.

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I can't speak for every critter however foxes, coyotes, large and small loose dogs, domestic cats, bob cats, coons, mice, possums, fisher cats, smaller weasels, black bears, various birds of pry including the dreaded owl etc etc were all unimpressed by my flashlight. The encounters would probably been the same with or without a flashlight but that's just my field experience using human perception based on years of dirt time and being being a flashlight/headlamp user. AKA No science. It does feel good lighting up an area to ID the glowing eyes. I think nature can detect confidence. If you look and act like prey that's exactly what you are. On a side note cats are some of nature's most efficient killers. If one is stalking you adds are you will find out during the attack not before. Speaking of killers humans have an earned reputation within nature as very good ones hence why we are often off the menu. Basically you are what goes bump in the night, the monster under the bed.

I had an experience several years ago which did not give me much confidence. I was out walking my dog, who was normally a sweetie, but she could get jazzed when approached by strange dogs. This was in town, and someone's pit bull got loose, and came over to "investigate" my dog. My dog is getting worked up, and I am holding her back on the leash. I don't want her escalating the situation, but by holding her in close, I am keeping her defenseless (though against a pit bull, it would not have been a contest, anyway). I manage to get my Fenix P2D out an dialed up to max - supposedly 180 lumens although that is probably inflated. The pit bull is coming in fast, and I am shining the P2D directly into the pit bull's eyes at point blank range, while forcefully shouting, "No! No! No! No!". Neither the light, nor my voice, made a whit of difference. I was considering kicking the dog away, but I held back, thinking that if the dog was just aggressively curious, I did not want to make things worse. Fortunately - thank you, higher powers - the pit bull had no malevolent designs, and eventually lost interest after sniffing my dog, and broke off and trotted back across the street to its not-so-fenced yard. I know that there are much brighter lights out there now, but I don't have a lot of confidence in light as a deterrent against an aggressive animal. And this pit bull wasn't even that aggressive, in the biting sense of the word.

There was a thread here about a guy who photoned a racoon who looked at him as if to say "pffft, what do you want?" and kept on rumaging.

In my encounters with wildlife they tend to freeze briefly (deer in headlights thing) then move away. Like others said, it's because humans are scary to the animals.

I'd have to say flashlights don't work for scaring them away, but they will buy you time to get plan b started.

Woods Walker said:

I can't speak for every critter however foxes, coyotes, large and small loose dogs, domestic cats, bob cats, coons, mice, possums, fisher cats, smaller weasels, black bears, various birds of pry including the dreaded owl etc etc were all unimpressed by my flashlight. The encounters would probably been the same with or without a flashlight....

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Bears are NOT afraid of flashlights? Oh boy! I didn't like reading that, sigh.

We have a camp that's literally in the middle of nowhere. Last season we caught bears and wolves (my husband says "coyotes", I disagree) on our critter cam, at night, right smack on our campsite! I always knew they were around but after seeing it on camera, I really got the creeps.

We each have a can of bear spray. I also have a mini marine horn, which after watching videos, it seems that bears are NOT afraid of air-horns (why not?). So, I thought, ok, I'll shine 1000 lumens and/or strobe to scare it away. So now I read that bears are NOT afraid of flashlights?

I guess I'm left with only the bear spray (in worse case scenario). The problem with that is, if the wind is blowing towards me, the spray will hit ME. I can't ask the bear to kindly move down wind before I spray him.

I also know to extend my arms up/out (to appear larger) and yell, apparently that scares them (but an air-horn doesn't? It's so loud it hurts!). I'm not sure if that would scare a mountain lion and I sure wouldn't want to be the one to test that theory.

Since it seems that flashlight/strobe won't scare wild animals, I suggest the OP carries "bear spray" if something changes his mind about mountain lions not being aggressive.

If there's something better, I hope someone posts it because I'd buy whatever works the best! Oh, except a gun, being in Canada and all.

Marine Air-Horn, Bear Spray, Thrunite TN4A, whistle

A friend of mine hunts coyotes, and other varmints.
Being where I live those and bear are slowly returning from a 30-50 year absence. So last year I quizzed him about the black bear that scared the heck out of me. He indicated that it had probably never encountered a human before. And that by nature they are curious. That once it sniffed out a curious smell it will investigate but unless it's young are nearby will likely not attack.

He indicated that is the case in his experience with most wildlife in the mid atlantic area of the US. It's like if they approach you they are in flight or flight mode with flight being default plan A.

bykfixer said:

.... It's like if they approach you they are in flight or flight mode with flight being default plan A.

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:

Yes, that's what I've heard and read (that they'll run away).

While researching bears on YouTube, I made the mistake of watching a couple of bear attack videos. My advice to others is "Don't do that, ever, for any reason!". All it did was scare the life out of me. That along with seeing them at our camp on our critter cam (battery operated video/photo camera mounted on a tree) has made me decide to "expect the best but prepare for the worst", just in case. I'm pretty sure a bear would run away (I hope) but better safe than sorry.

I disappointed to learn that it wouldn't be afraid of strobe or high mode on a flashlight. Not only to protect us from bears, but that was my excuse to buy a super powerful flashlight, lol. Now, I'll have to come up with a different excuse. :thinking:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TtC14cpwwXg

That's how you do it.

obi

I'm pretty sure a bear would run away (I hope) but better safe than sorry.

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That's been true in my half-dozen or so bear encounters while hiking. I've usually just seen a big furry rump running away as fast as it could go. Talking or yelling and making yourself look big is your best bet, then slowly back away. Spray them if they continue to approach. The worst thing you can do is turn and run - that's like ringing the dinner bell.

I've usually been more worried about moose.

How about a bb gun with knock out darts?

I say that half kidding...but not really.
Where fire arms are illegal bow n arrows or other old world approaches should be considered.

Obijuan Kenobe said:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TtC14cpwwXg

That's how you do it.

obi

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Wow! He's following the bear with his video camera before it charged him? Brave guy! oo:

So, yes, it seems that bears really are afraid of the "raise arms and yell" technique but they're not afraid of air-horns or strobe lights, like I thought they would be. Good to know!

I wonder if that technique would work on mountain lions (to give the OP an alternate way to scare them away, since flashlight wouldn't work)

Sphinxxx said:

The Mountain Lions seem to be having a good year. I am not particularly worried. I generally dont think much about them and i trust my Fight-Or-Flight. I cant imagine them getting aggressive, so this is mostly theoretical.

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Seems legit. I once tried flashing a strobe to a stray cat about a foot away using my S1 Baton. But the cat seems unfazed by it and didn't even blink or move an inch. So I guess lions and tigers would behave more or less the same, as they are from the same family. [emoji28]

bykfixer said:

How about a bb gun with knock out darts?

I say that half kidding...but not really.
Where fire arms are illegal bow n arrows or other old world approaches should be considered.

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Last time I was in big bear country I carried a 12 ga. pump loaded with Brenneke slugs (supposedly standard slugs are a bit marginal in penetration for big bears), probably would go with a auto loaded with the same slugs today, simply because I shoot auto better and they kick less.


I have heard that in areas where bears are a real problem, they can be scared away from a safe distance with "bird bombs" (basically noise maker shells) or with skeet shells fired close to the bear at a distance to scare them, and if this fails they can be peppered in the rump with the no.9 shot from a distance without harm. I would imagine sling shot or air rifle might do the same from a safe distance??? BUT if it didn't work and the bear decides to charge I would sure want to have a real gun!

Wendee said:

Wow! He's following the bear with his video camera before it charged him? Brave guy! oo:

So, yes, it seems that bears really are afraid of the "raise arms and yell" technique but they're not afraid of air-horns or strobe lights, like I thought they would be. Good to know!

I wonder if that technique would work on mountain lions (to give the OP an alternate way to scare them away, since flashlight wouldn't work)

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Making yourself look as big and dangerous is good.....if you run you are telling the bear you are prey. Sometimes the bear will try several false charges before committing himself to an attack, either to scare you or see if you are prey.

As for mountain lions, chances are you won't see the one that intends to attack you until it is too late.

Wendee said:

Bears are NOT afraid of flashlights? Oh boy! I didn't like reading that, sigh.

We have a camp that's literally in the middle of nowhere. Last season we caught bears and wolves (my husband says "coyotes", I disagree) on our critter cam, at night, right smack on our campsite! I always knew they were around but after seeing it on camera, I really got the creeps.

We each have a can of bear spray. I also have a mini marine horn, which after watching videos, it seems that bears are NOT afraid of air-horns (why not?). So, I thought, ok, I'll shine 1000 lumens and/or strobe to scare it away. So now I read that bears are NOT afraid of flashlights?

I guess I'm left with only the bear spray (in worse case scenario). The problem with that is, if the wind is blowing towards me, the spray will hit ME. I can't ask the bear to kindly move down wind before I spray him.

I also know to extend my arms up/out (to appear larger) and yell, apparently that scares them (but an air-horn doesn't? It's so loud it hurts!). I'm not sure if that would scare a mountain lion and I sure wouldn't want to be the one to test that theory.

Since it seems that flashlight/strobe won't scare wild animals, I suggest the OP carries "bear spray" if something changes his mind about mountain lions not being aggressive.

If there's something better, I hope someone posts it because I'd buy whatever works the best! Oh, except a gun, being in Canada and all.

Marine Air-Horn, Bear Spray, Thrunite TN4A, whistle

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Personally I consider humans far more dangerous because we are. The bright light couldn't hurt as it would allow you to see your target for that spray. Also it might give you more confidence and as stated if you look and act like prey that's exactly what you are. How you carry yourself and your follow up actions are what matters most IMHO. Predators be they humans or animals are not easily impressed when predatory, territorial or if protecting young. Shine a flashlight in my face isn't going to intimate, scare or discourage me from doing anything. Neither would an air horn not that I pose a threat to anyone other than trout or deer when in season. Just saying so what. Heck I must have shinned the ZL SC5w in my face 1/2 dozen times on high learning that UI and guess what? Nothing. Same goes for those critters I illuminated with 900-1000 lumen flashlights and headlamps. That said nothing in nature and very often with people wants a fight they might loose. Very often nature tries to avoid conflict if there is no gain. Even bees will on occasion bump into people or animals before attacking. Rattlesnakes can bluff and give dry bites. Bears can bluff or as is most often the case run away. Really it's mostly the bugs which are actually after you.

Bright lights scare off non aggressive animals at best. Ive shined a few aggressive dogs with almost zero effect on them. Once in a while one will be temporarily startled but that is all.
Thats my experience...

Woods Walker said:

... Shine a flashlight in my face isn't going to intimate, scare or discourage me from doing anything...

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I understand what you mean. I wonder though if I was able to shine a flashlight into they eyes of a person who had never seen one before (say, 500 years ago), wouldn't that shock them and stop them in their tracks? I assume it would? I thought it would be the same for a wild animal who had never seen such a thing, especially if the light is super bright, in the dark, so they can't see anything except the bright light (and more so for strobe). I understand now that I was wrong but I'm still surprised that it wouldn't scare them. I thought it would be like me seeing a flying saucer or something. Now that I think of it, I wonder if strobe is of any use at all then, for any reason...hmm.

I agree about the bugs. I'm actually more worried about forgetting my mosquito net than I am about forgetting the bear spray. I keep a "Sea to Summit" head net in my purse, so I know that I'll never forget to bring it. In case someone reading this might need something like this for camping or hiking this summer, check out that one. It's the best mosquito net I've ever used and it packs up into a tiny pouch. I'm going to buy another one as a backup (in case I lose this one).

Now I'll go see if I can find any posts or videos about "strobe" mode and see if it's been proven to actually be effective on people. I don't think I'd ever have to use it, but I'm curious to know.