It’s not such a long story but it is fascinating.
Perhaps in bear talk, that kind of behavior is an act of submission, showing that you are not a threat. Almost like when a dog rolls on its back and shows its throat.
Sad that they killed the bear. It was only doing what bears do and not a threat in the way that bears who have lost their fear of humans are. It was technically not an unprovoked attack.
It would have been a long story had I not spared the embellishments. This was the synopsis of an otherwise long account.