Made by a Griz for grizzlies: How a UM alum invented bear spray

FLORENCE — Before bear spray, encounters between people and bears often ended in bullets. That changed when graduate student Carrie Hunt developed the life-saving deterrent at the University of Montana in the 1980s.

Over 40 years later, bear spray is one of the most important tools for human-wildlife coexistence.

Hunt grew up in Chile, where she spent her childhood reading “The Jungle Book” and training street dogs. As a zoology student in Montana, she learned how animals are wired and the science behind their behavior. These early experiences sparked a lifelong dedication to promoting coexistence between people and wildlife.

After college, Hunt spent three seasons with the Interagency Grizzly Bear Study Team in Yellowstone National Park. Over those three years, she saw nearly every fem