[marktwain]

Here are the numbers for the Smith and Herrero Bear Spray and Firearms studies in Alaska:

Bear spray: Black bear 20, Brown bear 24, Polar bear 2. Total incidents 72. (obviously, some of the bears were involved in more than one incident). 21 of the incidents involved bear management people hazing problem bears.

Firearms: Black bear 30, Brown bear 218, Polar bear 6, unknown 15. Total incidents: 269, no bears more than once, no management hazing.

So, of the cases where the species were known:

Spray paper: black bear were 43%, brown and polar were 56%.

Firearms paper: Black bear were 12%, brown and polar were 88%.

[bert]

Thanks for that.

My experience is several encounters with black bears. They huff and bluff but when yelled at or pots are beaten, back off.

The Tennessee bears I encountered though wild, have experience with humans and just want the goodie in your pack