meditationchill t1_j8510mi wrote on February 11, 2023 at 5:59 PM

Reply to comment by newt_girl in How dangerous are western Washington's woods for a chronic forest wanderer? by cinderings

I’m not saying we shouldn’t be careful, but none of these articles (the Olympian ones are behind a paywall) suggest what you mentioned in your original comment. Yes, bears who frequent places where humans give them food can be less intimidated by humans. But, they’re not actively hunting out humans to eat, which is what you said.

I don’t have the exact figures on hand, but the number of serious injuries from bears in the last century is insanely low. And many if not most of those were caused by human negligence.

newt_girl t1_j853is9 wrote on February 11, 2023 at 6:16 PM

>they’re not actively hunting out humans to eat, which is what you said.

It's not. I said they're more likely to eat you during an attack than other types of bears one might encounter in the US. A list of fatal bear attacks in the US shows one is statistically more likely to be eaten by a black bear than a grizzly.

Think of the adage 'if it's black, fight back. If it's brown, lie down.' This is because black bears are more predatory toward humans and are trying to kill you, where grizzly attacks are often because you're deemed a threat to their resources; playing dead makes you less of a threat.

meditationchill t1_j85m6eu wrote on February 11, 2023 at 8:25 PM

Sorry, but you’ve got it completely backwards. If it’s black, fight back is because you have a chance of at least getting out alive and because black bears typically aren’t predatory. They’re straight up docile compared to grizzlies and most black bears will steer clear of humans.

Grizzlies on the other hand you absolutely don’t mess with. You wouldn’t be able to out fight them for starters. And so you should just play dead and cover your midsection.

I wonder if you’re out and about in this region much? Black bears are EVERYWHERE and as long as you don’t threaten their cubs or surprise them at a close distance, they’re too busy munching on insects and berries to bother people.