[kearnyirish2]

Very funny; I guess because they’d be older, weak, and hungry you two would be able to kick its ass?

I had a run-in with a black bear a couple of years ago along the NY/NJ border near West Point; an Indian student had been killed nearby a few months before by one, so I took it very seriously. I did what the books said; made myself “big”, moved towards it (hard to do - not a natural act), and yelled at the top of my voice (all after lloking for cubs, picking up a nice-sized limb and getting hold of my pepper spray). Thankfully it worked; when it had loped away a safe distance, I took a picture of it.

[Chuckster]

Watching the locals deal with bears in this little Alaska town was instructive. When they encounter a bear they wave their arms and shout "Go away Bear! Beat it!" or some such. Sometimes they use M-80s to frighten the bears away (Doesn't always work though). We noticed also that everyone seemed to be carrying a 12 gage pump gun.