How dangerous are black bears relative to brown/grizzly bears?

[Rolando]

My son the Eagle Scout told me this one:

The National Park Rangers are advising hikers in Glacier National Park and other Rocky Mountain parks to be alert for bears and take extra precautions to avoid an encounter.
They advise park visitors to wear little bells on their clothes so they make noise when hiking. The bell noise allows bears to hear them coming from a distance and not be startled by a hiker accidentally sneaking up on them. This might cause a bear to charge.
Visitors should also carry a pepper spray can just in case a bear is encountered. Spraying the pepper into the air will irritate the bear's sensitive nose and it will run away.
It is also a good idea to keep an eye out for fresh bear scat so you have an idea if bears are in the area. People should be able to recognize the difference between black bear and grizzly bear scat.
Black bear droppings are smaller and often contain berries, leaves, and possibly bits of fur. Grizzly bear droppings tend to contain small bells and smell of pepper.

[ka jowct]

PeterW wrote:
They didn’t freeze; they got out their cellphones. You don’t see a toddler get eaten that often.

This was in the 1960s, so maybe a few people got blurry pictures through their car windows with Brownies or Instamatics.

Back then, the poor mama bear would probably have been hunted down and shot if she had gone for the idiot instead of his marshmallows.

[btfc]

“ Back then, the poor mama bear would probably have been hunted down and shot if she had gone for the idiot instead of his marshmallows. “

Actually, the bar is much lower than that today:

‘ Grizzly sow and cubs euthanized near Tetonia after becoming habituated to populated areas ‘

https://idfg.idaho.gov/press/grizzly-sow...ated-areas



‘ Doug Peacock Calls Out Loss Of Mother Griz And Cubs In Idaho ‘

https://mountainjournal.org/doug-peacock...r-and-cubs


Close to my Idaho place.

[kj]

Not nearly as dangerous, but as Speedy alluded to, the conventional wisdom is that Black bears usually only attack when hungry, so you don't want to play dead and make it easy for them. I think there is some truth to this, but obviously not that simple.

In Alaska, I fished all day next to a black bear. He never paid any attention to us at all. I feel like they are similar to alligators. They ALMOST never are dangerous. Ladders are certainly a lot more dangerous.

[btfc]

“ They ALMOST never are dangerous. “

100% B.S., and a stupid and foolish assumption.

[blooz]

Oddly, black bears closer to suburban areas seem a little more aggressive that out here in the country in Western MA. I think it's the abundance of bird feeders and human trash. I've heard about people in Norhtampton having problems with aggressive bears (no fatalities happily) but up here in the hills, I've never heard a thing about people having problems.

I have had an occasion when walking and coming upon a bear in the middle of the road. She wasn't too close, and I just stopped and stared at her. After looking me over, she made a noise and her three cubs ran across the road. She gave me one last "don't even think about it" look and they all went into the cornfield for breakfast.

[kj]

btfc wrote:
“ They ALMOST never are dangerous. “

100% B.S., and a stupid and foolish assumption.

Not stupid. Black bears have killed 60 people in 123 years. Not generally something to freak out about. Doesn't mean you can take selfies cuddling with a black bear , but if you're not an idiot, they don't often choose to interact with people. We're always talking about relative danger.

[btfc]

“ dangerous adjective

1. involving possible injury, pain, harm, or loss : characterized by danger
a dangerous job
2. able or likely to inflict injury or harm
a dangerous man “

Pretty much any bear, within close proximity, is by definition, dangerous.

“ Black bears have killed 60 people in 123 years “

Yes, and how many people have been seriously injured in that period?

I’ve been in close proximity to many, many, bears, both black and grizzly, and it is foolish to not treat either as presenting a potential danger.

That black bear that you were close to in Alaska might not have been aggressive or threatening, but it was certainly dangerous.

[kj]

btfc wrote:
“ dangerous adjective

1. involving possible injury, pain, harm, or loss : characterized by danger
a dangerous job
2. able or likely to inflict injury or harm
a dangerous man “

Pretty much any bear, within close proximity, is by definition, dangerous.

“ Black bears have killed 60 people in 123 years “

Yes, and how many people have been seriously injured in that period?

I’ve been in close proximity to many, many, bears, both black and grizzly, and it is foolish to not treat either as presenting a potential danger.

That black bear that you were close to in Alaska might not have been aggressive or threatening, but it was certainly dangerous.

Well frick, a screwdriver is "dangerous", and actually, I have a hard time thinking of anything that isn't. The bottom line is I wouldn't spend a whole lot of time worrying about the dangers of black bears. I'd worry more about the ladder you're climbing up, and about a million other things.

I used sloppy language. EVERYTHING can be dangerous. It's up to the individual to assess risk and try not to be an idiot.

Fwiw, I've spent loads of time in the backcountry too. I've never spent one moment worrying about black bears. Well, except for what we do with food, if that's considered worrying. If I'm in grizzly country, I never don't think about it, because they are enormously more dangerous. Same with moose, tbh. I wouldn't get anywhere near one.