We have a large bear population in SW PA. I spend a lot of time in the woods and have seen many bear without incident. A male will usually ignore you or move away. The female will usually give you a warning growl which means you are getting close to her young. Best thing to do is clear the area the way you came in. Getting in between a sow and her cubs is a dangerous thing. If cubs are seen mom is somewhere close. Go back the way you came or in the opposite direction of the cubs. I also carry a .44 revolver on my side.
They don’t want any more parts of you than you want of them. The hardest thing is determining which direction to go to clear the area. Remain calm, don’t run, walk briskly though.
Knock-out game gone wrong?
Sometimes you gets the bear, sometimes the bear gets you!
The RailRoad Police on “Hell on Wheels” took on a bear and won.
The Indians looked upon him as some kind of ‘God’.
From his reactions etc and post fight behavior, I would venture to say the Bear was Rabid.
Am sure in that era rabies shots were not all that handy.
Rather than take the Rabies shots in the stomach, I figure if I contact rabies, I will make up a list of people I want to bite.
I carry Bear Spray for the thugs in the hood. I wonder what to carry for the actual bears?