I've only encountered a small black bear once while camping and we both made "hasty" retreats in opposite directions. (Of course this was after my initial "freeze" and the subsequent silent hailing of "Paul to God...Paul to God..come in God over") Depending on the situation: size of bear, path of escape; would you let the bear make the first move and decide the outcome of the stand-off or would you try to exit stage left asap and "hope" the bear performed the same actions in the opposite direction? They say you can't outrun a bear. I say that's up for debate when fear is factored into the equation. (This scenario involves no firearms on the person, but a knife is available)

I would exit ASAP. The worst that the bear will do is rumble around you campsite and leave. If you are a good camper he will find no food since you secured it far away from the site (unless he came when you were preparing the evening meal). Just make sure your wife/girlfriend/companion doesn't take fancy to a little cub. It happened to me and I will not wish situation like that to come upon anyone. I usually have a loaded firearm with me so standing a "fight" would never be a problem but I think that as a smaller animal I should be respectful and smarter and get the hell out of there. After all it's me being a guest at his house. Plus killing a bear mom and leaving two cubs for sure death is not my idea of being a good sportsman. If you are in a place that is frequently visited by bears maybe it would be wise to get one of those bear repellent spray things or a flare gun. From Late June to mid August I run into a bear at least 4-5 times a month. I saw anything from bears that couldn't care less because they were not hungry, to bears that were really nasty because they lived of garbage left by campers and they haven’t eaten in a while. But I always treat them as wild animals and promptly exit the area. If you can and the route is open try moving with the wind so you won't aggravate a bear with human scent especially if you only seen a cub but mother is nowhere in sight but surly near. <br><br>Matt<br>

Bear behavior is highly variable, an adaptive trait they share with humanity. Black bears are actually responsible for more attacks than grizzly. Running will only trigger the attack reflex.The standard advise is to stand your ground and become very vocal. If an actual attack happens, feignting death will not stop a black bear. A canadian friend ( and rated boxer) encountered a black in B.C. The bear reared and slashed his chest. He responded with a combination of punches to the nose,head and chest that sent it retreating. You really should do some further research and consider the use of a bear spray ( capsicum powder) if legal. Our forum member Rhawn has had several encounters and collects bear books.

From what I have read, if you're attacked by a Grizzly, play dead. If you're up against a Black Bear, fight back with whatever you can get your hands on. I'm assuming this is due to size variances between the Grizzly and the Black Bear. But from what I have seen on most websites related to this subject, the idea's range from staying quiet to soft talking to yelling loudly and from standing still to running like the wind.

Outrun a bear? A 800# grizzly can outrun a thoroughbred and kill it with one swat from it's paw. A black bear can outrun a man as well. Actually, men are slow in comparison to most 4 legged critters.<br><br>Stand your ground and never turn your back. You run, you become prey to the bear. With a black bear, playing dead don't work because they eat carrion. Make yourself as big as possible and hopefully the bear will just go it's way and avoid the confrontation. If you are attacked, fight back. With a griz it's play dead. Curl up in a fetal possition and protect your vitals including your head. Best advice is to make lots of noise as you make your way through bear country. If they know you are there because they hear you, they have time to go another direction. Also, you need to pay attention to what possition you are putting yourself into at all times. If traveling into an area that is choaked with thick brush, automatically figure that a bear is hiding and waiting to charge. That'll keep you on your toes.

HUMAN<br>America’s Maurice Greene is the fastest recorded running human being. During the 9.79 seconds it took him to set a world record for the 100 meters, he reached a top speed of 43.45kph/27mph.<br><br>Black Bear <br><br>Running Speed: Lean bears can exceed 30 mph. Can run uphill, downhill, or on level ground. Fat bears in winter coats overheat and tire quickly.<br>Swimming Ability: Good. Speed and distance limits are untested. Can swim at least a mile and a half in fresh water. One swam more than 9 miles in the Gulf of Mexico. Can swim to island campsites. <br>Smelling: Their smelling ability is extremely good. The limits are untested. Their nasal mucosa area is about 100 times larger than in humans. <br>Hearing: Exceeds human frequency ranges and probably twice the sensitivity<br>Vision: Bears see in color and have good vision close-up. Their distance vision (over two hundred yards) has not been tested.<br>Preferred Foods: Nuts, acorns, fruit, insects, succulent greens. Meat and survivalests are eaten when preferred foods are scarce. <br>

I wish I could answer this one. We have bear where I live, but I have yet to see one. I have even found paw prints in the mud, but no live critters. A friend from North Carolina gave me some roasted bear meat once. It was fantastic!

Recorded human fatalities from blackbear attacks since 1900 in North America-45. Number of black bears killed by sporthunting, poaching, killed by collision with vehicles,loss of habitat to enroaching human activity and destruction by park officials for public safety- in the thousands. "When we have another war, I'm siding with the bears"- John Muir " I support the right to arm bears"- Charleton Heston ( he was tired that evening, even Moses has his lapses) My #1 PSK item is teddy,loyal friend since infancy. He is more concerned about Barbara's use of kerosene ;o)

" Black bears are actually responsible for more attacks than grizzly"<br>I would imagine that has a lot to do with stupid people trying to feed and pet the cubs in the Great Smoky Mountains. Ive seen people do it nearly every time Ive been there. I just drive on and hope I am far enough down the road to not notice when they get killed.

I've had many many encounters with bears of both varieties - mostly, but hardly exclusively, in Alaska. They are highly individualistic and fairly unpredictable. While I've had good luck pretending to be a nastier critter than the bears, it scares the bejabbers out of me to do so, especially the ones that have been at "touching range" (for the bear). I'm sure that acting like lunch-on-legs (prey) would be bad. I have seen bears kill large animals twice - both griz; one was a calf moose (cow defended for a long time, but the bear eventually feinted past her and swarmed all over the calf) and one was a caribou - possibly the dumbest caribou on the planet <grin>. "It looks like food - kill it and see..."<br><br>I have never encountered a bear up close that I couldn't smell; the wild ones, at least, have a very definite and unmistakable odor to me. Dozens of times I have smelled the bear before I saw it - and before it detected me. I'm sure that I have NOT detected bears everytime, too - and not just the ones I found the tracks on, either (once one, a large male grizzly, FOLLOWED me and my dad back to our tent - not more than 1 minute behind us; possibly closer - we were unaware of it).<br><br>There have been times and circumstances when I made absolutely darned certain to move only UPWIND, even through difficult terrain, because my nose was the only early warning available due to density of vegetation.<br><br>I greatly enjoy watching chance - encountered bears, especially on a mountain side. But only through my binoculars. It is not safe to be close to them. Are they as dangerous as big cats or other large African fauna? Hardly - but they can be just as deadly and please keep in mind - they are NOT predictable; don't let anyone tell you that. I don't claim to know anything about great white bears (polar bears), but I know enough first-hand about griz/coastal/black bears to avoid generalizing what YOUR bear might do in a given situation.<br><br>They can be unbelievably persistent and even "clever" about getting into caches, too. We had a particlarly nasty (hungry) time getting out on one trip because of that. Bear bag or not, keep your food well away from camp.<br><br>Now - I don't let thoughts of bears keep me from anything and I don't strut around like some Rambo, either. I've been attacked by a bear exactly once, and I precipitated the attack, not the bear. I've been chased by half-feral hogs a lot more times than that! (And by bison and cow moose, come to think of it).<br><br>I avoid public campgrounds like the plague in bear country, though. (OK - I avoid public campgrounds, period <grin>).<br><br>I really like seeing and watching bears at a relatively safe distance and I am mindful of what bad things they can do to frail ol me. As far as "in camp" encounters go - that's a pretty dicey situation IMHO. I mentioned in a post a few days ago about popping a white penflare once - it was because a very aggressive bear was coming into camp (we were "expecting" him - long story). As it turned out, the flare scared the stuffing out him - for about 3 hours. We left at dawn and he moved in shortly afterwards (I had reason to return and reconstruct that sequence of events a week later). He gave us an uneasy remainder of the night, because he kept noisily circling around the camp the whole 3 hours - at about the perimeter of the useful light the penflare briefly issued. Clever bear; we had heard of him, and the stories were not exagerated (part of the long story). I had no idea he would flee at the flare, and I would not EXPECT the same reaction from another bear - but I suppose it could happen. He was "inbound" at the time we popped the flare and I initially had my shooting eye closed when I had my Dad pop the flare - I needed area illumination for definite ID of critter type, exact location, and apparent intent. If he had not hauled out of there, I was ready to whack him with my rifle. I'm glad that was not required.<br><br>Somewhere in my ramblings, I hope you can pan out a useful nugget or two...<br><br>Regards,<br><br>Tom