One researcher in Montana wanted to find out if an electrified deer carcass could serve as a grizzly bear deterrent. The findings weren't all that surprising, as grizzlies are incredibly persistent. According to the video's description, "The deer is electrified as an experiment to protect hunters' game kills and, in turn, to minimize bear-human encounters." Watch how it works (or doesn't) below:
Unorthodox, sure, but it could work. Except, this fearless grizzly is like the honey badger, and the honey badger don't care if his meal is hooked up to a car battery. He's gonna eat it anyways.
In all seriousness though, an electric wire fed into a dead deer did work well for a short while at keeping this Montana grizzly bear at bay. It's not as perfect a solution as a physical barrier would be, but you must admit an electric shock would be better than nothing.
However, we expect most backcountry hunters here in North America would not be interested in using this as a defense against wild animals that might steal your hard-earned harvest. If only because electric repellents like this would be heavy. You'd have haul a car battery into the backcountry to act as the charger for the electric fencing wire feeding into the carcass. All our hunting gear takes up enough space in our pack!
Also, the old-timers already came up with the perfect bear deterrent for your big game kills when you can't get them out of the woods overnight. Just get a length of rope and hoist them high into a tree.
Still, we do appreciate the researcher's efforts. It's worth researching ways to make unwanted bear-human encounters end well for both parties. Plus it was just downright entertaining to see these bruins are so much smarter than you realize!
