Bear attacks on people: 1900 to 2009

fast14riot

fast14riot

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Oct 27, 2010
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An interesting report that statistically dispells many bear fallacies. Lone male black bears in predatory attacks are more common than protective sows with cubs. Some good solid data, that reads about as interesting as the programming manual for your graphing calculator, but the subject matter is much more interesting at least.

http://www.bearsmart.com/paper/1182


-Xander
 
After browsing the PDF, it's clear that the threat of fatal black bear attacks in the lower 48 is pretty much a non-issue.

The attack in New Mexico (the only recorded fatal attack here ever) was maybe ten years ago. As I recall reading at the time, the bear was habituated after being regularly fed by the victim, and there was speculation that the 93-year-old victim may have already been deceased.

Still, there is good reason to be careful and "bear aware" when outdoors in bear habitat: First off, non-fatal injuries can be horrific. But the greatest danger is to the bears themselves. Hundreds of bears are destroyed every year when they become habituated and are no longer fearful of people.
 
That's the same conclusion I got. Lower density populations with the least human exposure seem to be the deadliest, which one could infer that it is because those bears are "the most wild."

Being smart about your potential risk is the best way to not be a statistic.


Be safe, be smart.

-Xander
 
fast14riot said:
That's the same conclusion I got. Lower density populations with the least human exposure seem to be the deadliest, which one could infer that it is because those bears are "the most wild."
Click to expand...

It's also where black bears share habitat with grizzly bears. Perhaps that affects their Fight-or-Flight decision making?
 
I think that the hunting variable needs further research relative to black bear attacks. I suspect there is more to the trends than a broad brush statement that human population densities are less north of the Lower 48 where the majority of the attacks have occured to date. The population increase of black bears has been fairly substantial since (I believe) 1960 which correlates with the high attack incidence period. Hunting has probably decreased in black bear ranges overall and I suspect it translates to black bears not being afraid of humans. But the young males seem to be the more likely to attack a human.

Of fatal attacks, 86% (54 of 63, 1.08/yr) occurred between 1960 and 2009.
Click to expand...

The rate of attack incidence is increasing in a linear fashion. Once could predict that 20-22 fatal attacks will occur between 2010 > 2019 (eye ball estimate) which is double their 1.08/year rate.

It would be nice if data for non-fatal attacks has been tracked to some degree since 1950. My guess is that there is a similar trend line.

Pretty good read overall.
 
22-rimfire said:
The population increase of black bears has been fairly substantial since (I believe) 1960 which correlates with the high attack incidence period. Hunting has probably decreased in black bear ranges overall and I suspect it translates to black bears not being afraid of humans. But the young males seem to be the more likely to attack a human.
Click to expand...

Good points here. What I've seen and read here in northern New Jersey is that decrease in hunting (disallowed by the State government) has led to bear population increase.

We have also had a significant human population increase, with housing tracts replacing bear habitat. THAT leaves the old males to defend their remaining traditional range with no place for the young males to establish theirs. The young males move out. In hot dry summers, they look to our area for lakes, bushes, fish ... and bird feeders and pets in backyards!

We had a bear in town one summer. I went for my usual walk down to a local lake, glancing over my shoulder frequently :eek: and when I got to the lake, the Park Ranger was leaving the parking lot. We stopped to talk, and I asked him if he knew where the bear was at that time. He said, yes, the police just got a report that it was one block from my home, raiding backyards.

I don't believe it is a matter of bears not fearing us. We have not seen aggression here, but the bears are not at the point of starving.
 
Black bear ranges are expanding westward in the lower 48. Years ago seeing a black bear in WV was a once in a lifetime event. I was doing work there for a few months in the mountains in the 80's and we were seeing 10-12 bears per day. They were a problem for the locals.

Roll the clock forward and there is a fairly significant population in far Eastern Ky now in the mountains and the numbers have increased sufficiently enough that they are invading peoples garbage cans, bird feeders, etc. in the towns now. KY just started allowing bear hunting in Eastern KY.

My impression is that there are more black bears in far East Tennessee now in the Blue Ridge area (including Smoky Mt NP) with the bears moving outward from the park. The one TN fatal attack was in the Blue Ridge area outside the park. The other was inside the park were the bear apparantly consuming a good portion of the hiker.

I hear that there are more sightings in North GA now too along with Big Foot of course if you believe that TV show.

The point is that that black bears are moving outward and extending their geographic ranges. NJ is a good example of what might happen if the bear population is not controlled in some fashion.
 
We have bears every night during the summer and usually pay no attention to them. Our dog even quit barking at them, unless they're right outside the window.

I often throw out trash late at night, or go out in the yard. Only once or twice have I found myself surprised and too close.
There's one particularly large fellow who visits the alley, and can sniff over the edge of the dumpster without standing up. He pulls out an entire bag of trash, sprawls himself across the alley, and digs through the bag leisurely. He looks like a Volkswagen parked out there. :eek:

Of course you have to be careful for those non-fatal attacks, which are undoubtedly very painful. Last week: http://trinidad-times.com/grandma-attacked-during-bear-scare-bear-killed-by-deputy-p3627-1.htm

Still, to put it in perspective, there are more serious pit bull attacks in town annually than local people who have ever been touched by a bear.

This guy was in my tree, broad daylight on a Sunday morning, and only a couple hundred feet from three churches packed with people.
DSC_1112.jpg

DSC_1114.jpg
 
fast14riot said:
That's the same conclusion I got. Lower density populations with the least human exposure seem to be the deadliest, which one could infer that it is because those bears are "the most wild."

Being smart about your potential risk is the best way to not be a statistic.


Be safe, be smart.

-Xander
Click to expand...

Bingo ! This is it in a nut shell. (all of the above)
 
This is the mating season for black bears so you'll probably see more of them.

Those NM bears are certainly scruffy looking compared to our handsome NY/PA bears !

As the bears mate the young are out on their own for the first time and cause mischief .Just yell and wave your arms to chase them away . A bit older and the males are trying to establish their own territories - that's the more dangerous type.
 
Black bears in New Mexico are very interesting due to their various color patterns. Only a few are solid black - most are blond, red, or some mix.
The guy in the photo above was unusual. Long blond hair on top, and the red/brown 'collar'. Very distinctive!
 
Pardon, but isn't the linked report about "fatal" attacks? If so, could it be that "predatory" attacks are more likely to be fatal than a female trying to be sure her cubs are safe?

When I was a kid working at a summer camp, garbage still went into open pits, attracting crowds of bears. One afternoon,, I dropped the back gate, climbed up, heard a noise, and found two bears had joined me. I left ASAP over the cab. Watching, the bears had no interest in me - just the garbage. They were joined by others. I was late getting back

The County tried a fence. Bears are strong and agile.

Now - many years later -- it goes in secure containers and down the hill to a commercial disposal facility in a suburban area.
 
Thomas Linton said:
Pardon, but isn't the linked report about "fatal" attacks? If so, could it be that "predatory" attacks are more likely to be fatal than a female trying to be sure her cubs are safe?
Click to expand...

I was wondering the same thing. I would love to see the different attacks compared.
 
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