Bear spray
Carried properly, bear spray is the single most effective thing you can have on a Sunshine Coast trail. It only works if it's on your body and you know the draw.
If a bear shows up too close
Stop. Stay standing and face it. Speak low and calm, get your spray ready, and back away sideways — never turn your back and never run.
A short demonstration of the response: stand tall, spray ready, slow sideways retreat.
And the same moment on a trail: stop, stand tall, talk calmly, spray ready, back away slowly while facing the bear.
How to carry it
- On your hip or chest harness — never inside your pack. If you can't reach it in two seconds, you don't have it.
- Same side every time, so your hand finds it without looking.
- Practise the draw: grab, thumb under the safety clip, flick it off, point low.
- Check the expiry date and the gauge each season. Old cans lose pressure.
- Never leave a can in a hot car or a closed tent — it can burst.
- One can per adult. Sharing one across a group means most of you are unarmed.
When to use it
- Only when a bear is coming at you and is inside about 30 feet. Outside that, spray drifts and does nothing.
- Not a repellent. Never spray it on yourself, your tent, your pack or your gear — the residue attracts bears.
- Not for a bear that is simply crossing the trail or feeding away from you. Back off quietly instead.
If a bear charges
- Stand your ground. Running triggers a chase and you cannot outrun a bear.
- Group up, stay on your feet, and speak in a low calm voice so it knows you are human.
- Take the safety clip off and hold the can with both hands, arms slightly down.
- At about 30 feet, spray a one to two second burst low, aimed just in front of the bear so it runs through the cloud.
- Keep spraying in short bursts as it closes. Most charges break off in the cloud.
- Once it stops or turns, back away slowly at an angle. Do not turn your back, do not run.
- Leave the area, then report it so neighbours know.
Afterwards
- Get upwind and rinse your eyes and skin with cold water — the spray affects you too.
- Call the Conservation Officer Service on the RAPP line right away if the bear made contact, followed you, or is near homes.
- Add a report in WildWatch so people walking the same trail today know what happened.