University of Montana ScholarWorks at University of Montana Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers Graduate School 1988 Of bears and women: Investigating the hypothesis that menstruation attracts bears Caroline P. Byrd The University of Montana Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarworks.umt.edu/etd Let us know how access to this document benefits ou.y Recommended Citation Byrd, Caroline P., "Of bears and women: Investigating the hypothesis that menstruation attracts bears" (1988). Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers. 7220. https://scholarworks.umt.edu/etd/7220 This Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by the Graduate School at ScholarWorks at University of Montana. It has been accepted for inclusion in Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers by an authorized administrator of ScholarWorks at University of Montana. For more information, please contact [email protected]. COPYRIGHT ACT OF 1976 Th i s is a n unpublished m a n u s c r i p t in w h i c h c o p y r i g h t SUBSISTS. An y f u r t h e r r e p r i n t i n g of its c o n t e n t s m u s t b e APPROVED BY THE AUTHOR. Mansfield Library University of Montana Date :___ 1,98 8 Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. OF BEARS AND WOMEN: INVESTIGATING THE HYPOTHESIS THAT MENSTRUATION ATTRACTS BEARS By Caroline P. Byrd B.A., University of California at Santa Cruz, 1981 Submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science University of Montana 1988 Approved by: Chair, Board of Examiners Dean, Graduate School /ÿ. Date Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. UMI Number; EP38021 All rights reserved INFORMATION TO ALL USERS The quality of this reproduction is dependent upon the quality of the copy submitted. In the unlikely event that the author did not send a complete manuscript and there are missing pages, these will be noted. Also, if material had to be removed, a note will indicate the deletion. UMT OnMrt«tion rWighmg UMI EP38021 Published by ProQuest LLC (2013). Copyright in the Dissertation held by the Author. Microform Edition © ProQuest LLC. All rights reserved. This work is protected against unauthorized copying under Title 17, United States Code ProQ^st* ProQuest LLC. 789 East Eisenhower Parkway P.O. Box 1346 Ann Arbor, Ml 48106-1346 Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. tX ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS This project germinated and unfolded over a number of years. In that time, many people's help and interest deserves acknowledgement. My committee has been suppor­ tive, helpful, and encouraging. Thanks to Dan Pletscher for his initial encouragement when I was ready to balk at this undertaking, and for his well-thought-out comments and critiques. Katherine Weist was very supportive and added insight to the development of the cultural attitudes section of this paper. I am extremely grateful to Stephen Herrero for his generous confidence in giving me access to his carefully gathered bear encounter records. Charles Jonkel spent inumerable hours reading my drafts and giving me much appreciated and very complete comments and criticism. He was a formative influence on this paper. I am grateful for the financial assistance I was granted through the B and B Dawson and Erasmus scholarships. Ken Wall was invaluable and enduringly patient while helping me through the maze of statistical computing. Dick Lane was also of great help in the analysis and presentation of the statistics. I could not have completed this work without the support and encouragement of my friends both in Missoula and in Lander, WY. The sparks of interest they showed me, their questions, and discussions gave me the confidence to pursue and continue with this topic. My family, too, ii Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. ill amazes me in their unending willingness to support my endeavors. Special thanks to Clayton Russell for his affection and support. Finally, I must give credit to Stephen Jay Gould, whose book The Mismeasure of Man was an inspiration to me and led me to reassess my introduction to the idea that men­ struation attracts bears (see Preface). Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. TABLE OF CONTENTS Acknowledgements..........................................il Table of Contents.........................................Iv List of Tables............................................. v 1. PREFACE............................................... vil 2. INTRODUCTION ........................................... 1 2.1. Glacier Attacks..................................2 2.1.1. Trout Lake ............................... 2 2.1.2. Granite Park ............................ 5 2.2. Scientific Study................................ 9 2.2.1. Cushing's Laboratory Test .............10 2.2.2. Cushing's Field Test .................. 14 2.2.3. Responses to Cushing's Findings....... 17 2.2.4. Pheromonal Research....................21 2.2.5. Behavioral Effects of the Menstrual Cycle................ 24 3. METHODS................................................ 28 3.1. Herrero's Sample............................... 28 3.2. Statistical Methods............................29 4. STATISTICAL ANALYSIS........................... 33 5.1. Results and Discussion........................ 33 5.2. Cases Involving Known Menstruation.......... 74 5.3. Fatalities......................................76 5.4. Ratios.......................................... 80 5.5. Summary of Results....... 81 5. CULTURAL ATTITUDES.................................... 87 5.1. Women and Nature............................... 89 5.2. Danger and Power ............................... 91 5.3. Sexuality....................................... 95 5.4. Vulnerability ........................... 98 5.5. Exclusion...................................... 101 5. CONCLUSION............................................ 110 6.1. Management Recommendations.................. 112 6.2. Further Stu dy................................. 113 7. REFERENCES CITED..................................... 115 Appendix 1. Letter to Zoo Personnel................... 124 Appendix 2. Cross-Cultural Links of Women and Bears....................... 125 IV Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. LIST OF TABLES Table 1. Cushing’s (1980 and 1983) laboratory test results.........................................12 Table 2. Cushing’s (1980 and 1983) field results : Responses by polar bears to test stimuli... 15 Table 3. Cross-tabulation - Sex by distance from bears ........................... 34 Table 4. Cross-tabulation - Sex by status of the bear most active In the encounter........ 35 Table 5. Cross-tabulation - Sex by age class of the bear most active In the encounter........ 38 Table 6. Cross-tabulation - Sex by bear's species... 39 Table 7. Cross-tabulâtIon - Sex by age of person.... 44 Table 8. Cross-tabulation - Sex by extent of Injury...................... 47 Table 9. Cross-tabulation - Sex by encounter type... 49 Table 10. Cross-tabulation - Sex by bear's history of conditioning to garbage and human food..... 51 Table 11. Cross-tabulation - Sex by bear's history of known contact with humans................ 52 Table 12. Cross-tabulâtIon - Sex by food and garbage factors........................................ 57 Table 13a. Cross-tabulation - Sex by location of encounter In relation to development....... 58 Table 13b. Cross-tabulation - Sex by location of encounter In relation to development measured by encounter........................ 69 Table 14a. Cross-tabulation - Sex by bear's activity prior to the encounter....................... 62 Table 14b. Cross-tabulation - Sex by bear's activity prior to the encounter measured by encounter.........................63 Table 15a. Cross-tabulation - Sex by Inferred motivation of bear ............................ 65 Table 15b. Cross-tabulation - Sex by inferred motivation of bear measured by encounter............... 66 Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. va Table 16a. Cross-tabulation - Sex by action which seemed to trigger aggression.................71 Table 16b. Cross-tabulâtion - Sex by action which seemed to trigger aggression measured by encounter........................ 72 Table 17. Summary of Results............................ 81 Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. PREFACE My personal experience with the hypothesis that menstruating women attract grizzly bears (Ursus arctos) has been instrumental in my choice of this investigation; it has also formed my biases. I worked seasonally for the U.S. Forest Service (USFS) for six years in grizzly/brown bear habitat. In the fall of 1983, my fourth season on the Shoshone National Forest in northwest Wyoming, I was working on a timber crew marking a timber sale in Situation 1 grizzly habitat. On our return to the ranger station we passed a hunter’s camp that bears had ran­ sacked. We investigated and found clear tracks of an adult grizzly and one cub. They had entered the wall tent,