The book does give references to specific incidents.
I also agree that you can't rely completely on pepper spray, but the product has proven reliable against bears.
In some areas you cannot carry firearms, so bear spray would be the next best choice.
As is the case for all wild animals, they can be unpredictable and you can possibly one day come across a bear that breaks all the rules and is not effected at all by the spray.
In realty though, bear attacks are still rare on people. You have more of a chance being hit by lightning walking in the outdoors, or run over by a vehicle crossing the street.
Posted on Apr 2, 2002, 12:50 PM from IP address 24.64.223.204