"Grizzlies tend to more aggressively defend cubs, while black bears will leave their cubs when fleeing from people."(134)

"It is estimated that a person is 180 times more likely to be killed by a bee than by a black bear, and 160,000 times more likely to die in a traffic accident."(134)

"[The presence of bears] can be identified through tracks, droppings, and well worn foraging trails with ripped-open decayed logs, claw marks on trees, long coarse hair imbedded in tree bark (bears love to rub their backs on trees), and stripped and broken berry bushes. Large flattened areas in cornfields are also a bear sign."(134)

Suggestions for hiking and camping in bear country:
"1. Because bears do not like surprises, make your presence known by making noise while you hike. If possible, travel with a group of people; groups are noisier and easier for bears to detect. Avoid thick brush. If possible, try to walk upwind (with the wind at your back) so your scent is carried ahead of you.
2. Be careful not to set up camp near a well-traveled road or path that bears may also use. Avoid any sites where you see carcasses of fish or dead animals, which may be a bear’s personal supply and aggressively defended. When camping, cook away from your tent and avoid smelly foods so that odors do not permeate the tent and clothes. Store all food away from your campsite in airtight or specially designed bearproof containers, or hang the food out of bears’ reach. Hang food bags… 10 feet from the nearest tree trunk, and 12 feet above the ground. Hanging food bags from tree limbs is not as effective, because bears can break small branches and climb out on large ones.
3. Keep your camp clean and burn all garbage in a hot fire (if fires are permitted); carry out all garbage that cannot be burned. Do not bury garbage, because bears will locate the scent and dig it up…. Leave tent flies open when out of camp so bears can easily see that there is no food inside.
4. Do not crowd bears. If attempting to view or photograph them, stay a great distance away and use long lenses. If a bear approaches while you are fishing, stop. If you have a fish on your line, do not let it splash- cut the line if necessary- so that bears do not learn that they can get fish just by approaching fishers. If you see a bear, avoid it and give it every opportunity to avoid you. If a cub appears abandoned, do not touch it. Leave the area immediately and the mother will return for it soon."(135-136)

Suggestions for an encounter with a bear in the backcountry:
"1. Talk to the bear in a normal voice and wave your arms in the air to let it know that you are human. If it cannot tell what you are, it may approach closer or stand on its hind legs to get a better look or smell. A standing bear is usually curious, not threatening. Try backing away slowly, but if the bear follows, stop and hold your ground.
2. Do not run from a bear. Like dogs, bears chase fleeing animals, and they can run up to 35 mph. Bears sometimes bluff by charging as near as 10 feet without making contact. If the bear gets too close, raise your voice, bang on pots and pans, use noisemakers of any kind to frighten it away. Do not imitate bear sounds or make a high pitched squeal. A group making noise and chasing up to 15 feet from a black bear is usually effective in scaring it off- but do not chase a grizzly in this way. Do not try to pet bears; this can cause them to nip or cuff with their front paws.
3. If a brown (grizzly) bear actually touches you, fall to the ground and play dead. Lie flat on your stomach, or curl up in a ball with hands behind your head. Once it perceives that the threat has been eliminated, a grizzly will usually stop an attack. If a black bear attacks, fight back vigorously. They are more easily frightened away.
4. Avoid use of guns unless you have no alternative. Handguns are generally not effective against bears….
5. Defensive aerosol sprays containing capsaicin (cayenne pepper extract) have been somewhat successful with bears when used at a range of 6 to 8 feet."(136-137)

Suggestions for a bear in your yard:
"Make sure that all possible food sources around your yard are properly stored or disposed of, especially garbage, pet food, and animal carcasses. If you are surprised by a bear on your property, do nothing. The bear will wander away on its own without any need for you to interact with it. After it is gone, locate the food source that tempted the bear to come so close and eliminate it."(137)

Suggestions for a bear raiding beehives, orchards, or corn crops:
"1. Because brown and black bears prefer wooded areas, make sure beehives, apple trees, and cornfields are sited as far from woods as possible. Raise beehives above ground level on platforms or anywhere that bears cannot climb to. Electric fences, properly maintained, are effective in limiting bear access. Heavy-gauge woven-wire fencing, at least 8 feet high, with barbed wire on brackets, is also effective in discouraging bear intrusion.
2. Because bears often forage at night, surprise techniques such as loud radios, barking dogs, fireworks, flashlights, and scarecrows can be effective. It is important to vary techniques to ensure the element of surprise."(137-138)