Science Proves Women's Periods Don't Actually Attract Most Bears

Brick Tamland has been debunked by the National Park Service in the very well researched (and hilariously titled) study Bears and Menstruating Women. It turns out that the average menstruating woman does not need to fear bear attacks. This whole business started in 1967 when two women (allegedly on their periods) were attacked by Grizzly Bears in separate incidents. Thus a rumor was  born that science would not test until the 21st century.

The study placed human menstrual blood in front of a variety of bears and tested their reactions. Grizzly Bears and Black Bears were generally uninterested in the tampons offering blood from a variety of stages of menstruation. The Grizzly Bear data is slightly more iffy, but they found no reason to think there is any correlation between the attacks and the periods. So, if you're camping in the usual sense of the word and you're on your period, you really aren't in any more danger than anyone who might not be on their period (or a man).

The Van Buren Bears

Of course, there was one interesting correlation that does appear to exist. . . It turns out Polar Bears were offered seal blood, regular human blood, and human menstrual blood and they reacted most strongly to the menstrual blood. The Polar Bears were significantly more attracted to the menstrual blood than the other offers, even ignoring the regular human blood and unused tampons. So, maybe there is some reason to fear if you're going to be around Polar Bears. I guess Brick won that point, though I think we can all agree that's not what he was yelling about.

The study concluded that humans with food are (generally) the biggest risk, not women on their periods. This was what attracted the average bears the most. If you run into a bear, the National Parks Service offers five nuggets of wisdom:

You can reduce the risks by: 1) hiking in groups of 3 or more people, 2) staying alert, 3) making noise in areas of poor visibility, 4) carrying bear spray, and 5) not running during encounters with bears.

And, though they supply ample evidence that you need not fear bears while menstruating, there are some precautions women ought to take anyway:

1. Use pre-moistened, unscented cleaning towelettes.

2. Use internal tampons instead of external pads.

3. 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.

4. Place all used tampons, pads, and towelettes in double zip-loc baggies and store them unavailable to bears, just as you would store food. This means hung at least 10 feet above the ground and 4 feet from the tree trunk.

5. Tampons can be burned in a campfire, but remember that it takes a very hot fire and considerable time to completely burn them. Any charred remains must be removed from the fire pit and stored with your other garbage. Also, burning of any garbage is odorous and may attract bears to your campsite.

6. 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.

Did that quell your fears?