I did some research on this a few weeks ago. Apparently black bear attacks are VERY rare (11 deaths in the continental US is 120 years) but are usually caused by a male stalking prey, often for hours. So yeah, they WILL come out of nowhere.
But they are nowhere near as dangerous as Grizzlies or Polar bears. And the people that actually study these animals have no problem hanging around them and even petting them, though you can get nipped or slapped.
Timothy Treadwell may disagree about “getting nipped or slapped.”
“I did some research on this a few weeks ago. Apparently black bear attacks are VERY rare (11 deaths in the continental US is 120 years)”
I suggest you refresh your memory cells.
Yes, the 120 years is carefully chosen because black bears were near wiped out at that time, around the turn of the century. There were 10 black bear deaths in the last 16 years.
The “continental” U.S. is chosen to eliminate the deaths in Alaska.
Attacks are much more common than deaths. Deaths are chosen to minimize the danger.
All that being said, bear attacks are very rare, but are becoming more common. They are tiny numbers compared to attacks by humans, or even dogs.
Black bears are dangerous, the more so that they become acclimated to humans.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_fatal_bear_attacks_in_North_America
” Apparently black bear attacks are VERY rare (11 deaths in the continental US is 120 years)”
That is liberal horse $hit. 120 deaths in 11 years would be closer to the truth.
“Black bears have killed 61 people across North America since 1900.”
http://www.bear.org/website/bear-pages/black-bear/bears-a-humans/119-how-dangerous-are-black-bears.html
This site lists 61, but my guess is that it is way low.
Liberals fudge the numbers so they can convince other liberals that bears/wolves/cougars/ ect are harmless.