[freetime2]

Black bears have killed 67 people in North America since 1900, so I think statistically the risk is very low [1].

I have come across black bears on several occasions while hiking in Yosemite and Sequoia national park. They have never expressed the slightest bit of interest in me. Give them plenty of space, make plenty of noise, and eventually they will wander away.

Grizzly bears, the other hand, terrify me.

[1] https://wiseaboutbears.org/about-us/bear-attacks-2/

[hoorible]

I have hiked a popular ridgeline hike in the Jasper National Park area every year for the last 3 years, and I am 3/3 for grizzly sightings while on trail. The first was the scariest, we came around a bend and startled a cub with momma bear a ways off behind. Thankfully cub scurried off, so mom followed. Had we been more diligent with making noise, I’m sure the encounter wouldn’t have even happened.

The other 2 times, the bears were feeding on berries in fields near the trail. We made lots of noise, had spray on hand, but the bear just looked at us then kept eating; we made a wide arc around and carried on.

Definitely hair-raising, but not so terrifying that I’m scared away from hiking the area. They’re less skittish than black bears but don’t like people any less.

[dkarl]

There must be tens of thousands of black bear encounters (where human and bear are mutually aware of each other) in the U.S. every year, and I think less than one attack per year on average. It's not uncommon to see videos of bears wandering around in suburban back yards.