In article ,
"Kevin Brooks" writes:

"Peter Stickney" wrote in message
...
In article ,
Stephen Harding writes:
Kevin Brooks wrote:

The ol' Black Bear actually accounts for many more attacks against
humans in
the US than does the Grizzly, which makes sense being as they are more
widely distributed and have a larger population. I carried a 12 guage
pump

Are you certain of that? I've read quite consistently that
the black bear is really very slow to attack a human, even
when it has cubs. Attacks are extremely rare.

I think the last I heard, a couple years ago a woman jogging
around somewhere in Quebec was killed by a black bear. It
was an exceptional event!

I guess I should find out more. We've got *plenty* of black
bears around here, and they're definitely done with their
winter naps.

Had my first encounter with one for this year just a few days
ago. It growled at my dog, made a short charge towards the
dog, and then took off. This would be my 5th encounter with
local black bears in about 3 years, and usually, they just
skeedadle as fast as possible when they see me. The critters
are *everywhere* around here now days!

I haven't heard any credible stories of Black Bear attacks either.

Then you may want to reread what is available out there. A quick Google
should convince you that the black is no teddy bear; they have accounted for
a number of fatalities, and reportedly account for more attacks and
fatalities in BC than the also-present grizzlies.

I'd be the last one to state that _any_ wild critter, be it a bear, of
any color, Coyote, Racoon, or even Field Mouse is a Cuddly Teddy Bear.
(Especially after sewing a friend's Coon Hound's ears back on after it
learned that Black Bears are Very Much Irritated by Coon Hounds
bouncing around them and bellowing. (It wasn't so much an attack as a
backhand cuff in the "Get Outta Here!" mode. It was still sufficient
to scalp the dog. (Didn't do any permanent damage though, 'cause it
hit him in hte head. The one thing you could be certain of was that
you couldn't induce detectable Brain Damage in Bounce the Coon Hound -
It's sort of like detectnig radiation from DU - sure, it's there, but
the background count is so high that you can't sort out just what the
cause is))
I don't doubt that there have been Black Bear attacks. We haven't had
any of any consequence in New Hampshire, of late. Given what I've
observed of bears in the woods. I'd be willing to wager that it's
more a question of the likelyhood of an encounter with a particular
species rather than a blanket statement that a Black Bear is as
agressive, or as prone to provocation, as a Grizzly.
I wouldn't dream of cornering either type - other than Humans, they're
at the toop of the food chain around here, and they didn't get there
by being slow, dull-witted vegetarians.


They're pretty willing to just go about their business and amble
along. I think that the Bears (and us) face more danger from the
Charging Buick than anything else.
That being said, wo do have a lot of bear up here, these days. (IIRC,
the census figures put the bear population in New England at the
highest level since about 1600.
Hmm. given the number of bear sighting out to Durham, it could well
be that bears are attracted to Academic environments. I know Skunks
are - there's an area of UNH that's just loaded with them. And teh
City-raised kids learn pretty quickly that they all respond quite well
to "Here, Kitty!"
As it happens, I'll be meeting with some of teh Wildlife Studies folks
at UNH this weekend. I'll see what they think.

Ask them if any of them have read Shelton's book on the subject of black
bears and attacks.

I wouldn't doubt that they have - in fact, some of them may have
contributed or reviewed it.

--
Pete Stickney
A strong conviction that something must be done is the parent of many
bad measures. -- Daniel Webster