wrote...
snipped a good bear story
Mother bears are also extremely protective of their young, and they will
charge if they feel that they or the cubs are being threatened. If you
encounter a bear while hiking or in your yard, here's what you should do:

* Keep your distance. Make it aware of your presence by
clapping, talking or making other sounds.

* If you see cubs, stay away. Bear cubs are never orphaned by
their mother this time of year. The mother is nearby and is very protective.
Any movement towards the cubs could be seen as an attack, and the mother
will attack you.

* If a bear does not immediately leave after seeing you, the
food may be encouraging it to stay. Remove any sight or smell of foods.
Place food items inside a vehicle or building. Occupy a vehicle or building
until the bear wanders away.

* Black bears will sometimes "bluff charge" when cornered,
threatened or attempting to steal food. Stand your ground and slowly back
away. Don't turn your back to the bear.

These are tips that I have heard several times and that were left
out from the very good list that you provided above:

1) Avoid direct eye contact (staring at a bear) because it is a form
of a "challenge" and a call for establishing dominance. If you have
a dog, then you need to try this: have a staring contest with your
dog. Most dogs know that humans are "superior" and will avert their
gaze after a short amount of time. Bears haven't been ingrained
with the notion that humans are "superior" and see it as a direct
challenge that often instigates a confrontation. The advice I read
said to lower your head and look away and pretend to be
"submissive" and non-threatening as you slowly remove yourself from
the area because quick movements and running will often trigger an
attack.

2) Act as if every bear has cubs with them. See below for an
example.

3) I heard that it is unwise to make noise when you see a bear that
doesn't see you because the noise could startle a bear. The advice
I have come across several times is to quietly get the hell out of
the area without startling the bear if you are close. Basically you
want to put as much distance between you and the bear before you are
noticed or decide it is safe to let the bear know you are there. A
good example would be making noise when a sow doesn't see you and
you are between her and her cubs which you may not even know are
around. The noise could startle her and cause her to think that you
are after her cubs. If you are outside their "buffer zone," then
noise is good because it warns them that you are in the area. I
can't recall the distance that the source felt was a decent "buffer
zone," but I want to say it was something like 100+ yards.

If you are really interested in bears and preventing attacks, two
really good books that I have read are "Mark of the Grizzly" and
"Night of the Grizzly." MOTG is a study of several bear attacks
mostly from places like the Yellowstone Park area, Canada and
Alaska. They describe the attacks, interview the victim(s) if
possible, any witnesses, or examine the forensic evidence and then
try to explain what the people did to initiate an attack. NOTG is
about the grizzly attacks in Glacier that I believe were the first
fatalities from Grizzlies in that Park IIRC. Both are really good
books, but I liked Mark of the Grizzly more. As a matter of fact,
it may be time for another reading...... I highly recommend both
books if you are visiting areas that bears frequent because they are
very educational, IMHO.
--
Warren
(use troutbum_mt on earthlink dot net to respond via email)
Clave Info:
http://www.geocities.com/troutbum_mt...nConclave.html