What To Do If You Encounter A Black BearNow you are probably thinking: Well that´s obvious, play dead right?
Wrong. This may work on Grizzly Bears, because they usually attack only if they feel they must defend themselves. Black Bear attacks are rare but when they do occur, the attack is often predatory. If you play dead, a Grizzly would most likely give a few sniffs, bat you around a bit, lose interest and walk away. Black Bears, however, seek out carrion as a source of food. Carrion are dead animals. Get it? If you ever come within range of a Black Bear it would probably run off without you ever knowing it was there. In the unlikely event you should ever encounter a Black Bear, the best course of action is similar to what one might do in a Mountain Lion encounter. Walk away slowly while speaking quietly to the animal. Raise your arms up to make yourself appear larger. Use sticks or rocks to defend your self ONLY if the animal becomes aggressive. Unlike most bears, Black Bear mothers will usually not aggressively defend their cubs. Instead, they will often send the cubs up a near by tree if
