I'm with you ... don't forget, if you have opted for pepper spray at that point, spray it all over yourself at the last second, the bear may appreciate a spicier meal.

I don't know what went on here, I didn't notice anyone stating they were giving expert advice or that they were an expert. I noticed one biologist's report given as an informational, safety notice that we could file into our "other folk's experiences" file. I didn't see it as the end all, do all report of human - bear encounters.

Some folks here take offense to others opinions and experiences and call names, thinking that only their opinion and supporting data matters. There are usually at least two sides to every story... with deviations and variances...

AKSAR, your name here infers that you are, or have been, on a SAR team in AK (with my limited imagination, anyway). You should have some great info and insight. I have 25 years experience on a recognized team. I would imagine that, working in AK, if you had looked around at other team members, you might notice a few firearms. I carried once in a while, but not all the time. A couple of times the volunteers were intentionally excluded and we went in armed due to circumstances of the search but that was not due to bears in the area.

You can read many studies, reports and opinions and you may notice that there are arguments across the spectrum as to cause and effect.

To those of you that think pepper spray automatically incapacitates any animal, man or beast, I would say it would be in your best interest to do further research.

To those of you that believe that a properly placed shot of the correct calibre does not incapacitate an animal, I would say the same. Yes, it is not as simple as all that, and I did not say "immediate incapacitation"... there are many variables... but bullets destroy tissue and turn off switches that make things run. Yes, adrenaline and drugs and all that. yada, yada, yada..

Really, no disrespect, these really are facts.

Best wishes and safe travels to you all, I understand that not everyone likes firearms. The best use of pepper spray I have found to date is to dissuade vicious dogs, but it was always backed up with a firearm.

P.S. The last time I was assigned critical incident review, I was given a months for a researching single incident. There are "experts" on all sides, some will arrive at different conclusions that you; hopefully they have arrived at their conclusion after a thorough investigation of all involved parties, witnesses, the scene and available evidence... I know, time consuming, boring, and may seem like too much to do for something so apparently cut and dry... maybe. I don't know all the details of these incidents reported, If I read the reports of all the incidents reported, I still would not have all the info, just the info that was presented.

Hopefully we come away with the knowledge of how it may have happened, what conclusions were arrived at by the individual or team assigned to study the incident(s) and we can use that info to make our lives safer.