These Montana Residents Make My Top 5 Dumb Dumb List. Here Is Why

First, I would like to say that this story is not new, but it is a great reminder for all the "newbies" to the area. I would also like to note that this is not how ALL Montanans are. Just a few that clearly forgot their thinking caps that day.

It all started in Chico, Montana ( a little over an hour from Bozeman), when bears were apparently vigorously rummaging through the dumpster areas. No, this is not that uncommon, but in this particular case, there was something drawing the bears in.

As FWP was securing the site last October, they noticed that residents had apparently sprayed bear spray all over the dumpsters.

“During this time Park County employees have been injured because of improper use of bear spray by residents, please be sure that you are using bear spray properly. Bear spray is only effective as an aerosol during a bear attack and will attract bears if it is used as a "repellant".” - Park County Officials

It turns out that people were spraying items with bear spray that they wanted to repel bears from. To avoid injuries, confusion, and apparently "bait" for bears, make sure you are reading all the directions on the back of the can of spray. I never really thought I would be reminding people of this, but you just never know what "bright idea" could be next.

To be honest, if I was new to a state with bears, I guess I could see how this could happen, but then again, not.

Just to be on the safe side, you can watch the short video above to get some instruction on how to properly use bear spray. With the possible extra traffic on trails this summer due to the closure of YNP (at least for now), it is a great idea to brush up on your knowledge of bear spray.

You can find the full article, including tips from Park County Officials HERE. 

cc: Montana Right Now