A bear attack is an attack by a
bear
Bears are carnivoran mammals of the family (biology), family Ursidae (). They are classified as caniforms, or doglike carnivorans. Although only eight species of bears are extant, they are widespread, appearing in a wide variety of habitats ...
on another animal, although it usually refers to a bear attacking a
human
Humans (''Homo sapiens'') or modern humans are the most common and widespread species of primate, and the last surviving species of the genus ''Homo''. They are Hominidae, great apes characterized by their Prehistory of nakedness and clothing ...
or
domestic pet. Bear attacks are of particular concern for those who are in bear habitats. They can be fatal and often hikers, campers, fishers, and others in bear country
take precautions against bear attacks.
Stephen Herrero
Stephen Herrero is a Canadian professor emeritus of ecology at the University of Calgary. He is the author of ''Bear Attacks: Their Causes and Avoidance'', which has been described as "authoritative" and "required reading" on the topic.
Herrero ...
, a Canadian biologist, reports that during the 1990s, bears killed around three people a year in the U.S. and Canada, as compared to the 30 to 50 people killed every year by
dog
The dog (''Canis familiaris'' or ''Canis lupus familiaris'') is a domesticated descendant of the gray wolf. Also called the domestic dog, it was selectively bred from a population of wolves during the Late Pleistocene by hunter-gatherers. ...
s.
Causes
Almost all recorded bear attacks in the wild have resulted from humans surprising them. Hunters are the people most at risk of bear attacks because, as Tom Smith, a U.S. Geographical Survey research biologist, describes, "Hunters typically aren't making any noise, and they sleuth around while wearing camo." Hunters try to be silent and, though many hunters wear reflective clothing so as not to become targets for other hunters, they try to hide their movements so as not to startle game. Most bear attacks result from hunters suddenly appearing in front of them, startling a bear into an instinctive act of aggression.
A bear's first reaction upon detecting a human is to run away. Fergus lists a few possible causes for this instinctive reaction, each a speculation or theory based more on intuition rather than physical evidence. Some speculate that bears inherited their cautious nature from thousands of years ago when they had to be wary of larger and more dangerous carnivores. Some believe that bears have come to relate a human presence to firearms, or other weaponry, that they have come to fear. Still others think that hunters tend to target more aggressive bears, thus leaving only the more shy and timid bears to reproduce, creating a population of bears less hostile than before.
Protecting young

One of the most dangerous situations that leads to bear attacks is when a bear perceives a threat to her offspring. Sow bears are very protective of their young, devoting, on their own without any participation of the male bear, many years of their lives just to raise their cubs and teach them to hunt, hence the term "mama bear" to refer to extremely reactive and protective mothers of humans, particularly those who do this without paternal care. While solo bears will usually retreat, a mother bear protecting her cubs is most likely to attack any sudden threat. Black bears present something of an exception to this, however, as mother black bears sometimes urge their cubs to climb trees for safety instead of remaining on the ground to protect their young.
Hunger
Another dangerous situation is when a human is faced with a hungry bear that has lost its natural fear of humans. With the decrease of hunting grounds and food crops such as berries and bark, bears often become more desperate and aggressive. However, this hunger has also triggered an unexpected reaction: bears began to follow gunfire because they associate it with dead animals that they can eat.
Once a bear claims an animal carcass, it becomes very protective of its kill. This becomes a problem when a bear claims a hunter's kill, as the hunter may not wish to kill the bear as well. By avoiding a bear over a carcass, the risk of attack is reduced by around fifty percent.
Predatory
Bears may act aggressively toward humans even when they are not hungry, protecting a kill, or protecting their young. Most fatal attacks by black bears have been judged as predatory. Bear researcher
Stephen Herrero
Stephen Herrero is a Canadian professor emeritus of ecology at the University of Calgary. He is the author of ''Bear Attacks: Their Causes and Avoidance'', which has been described as "authoritative" and "required reading" on the topic.
Herrero ...
determined that in black bear attacks, the bear acted as a predator in 88 percent of fatal incidents.
Prevention
Bear attacks may be prevented by avoiding hiking at dawn or dusk. Additional steps may be taken to prevent attacks such as being loud, traveling in groups, and
bear spray
Bear spray is a specific aerosol spray bear deterrent, whose active ingredients are the potent irritant capsaicin and related capsaicinoids, that is used to deter aggressive or charging bears.
History
Capsaicin bear spray was developed in the ...
/firearms.
Species, and respective aggressiveness
American black bears
American black bears are widely distributed throughout much of North America. As of a 1996 count, they are found in nearly all states and provinces in the United States and Canada. States and provinces with particularly high black bear populations include Alaska, British Columbia, and Ontario. Black bears are largely absent from the Great Plains region, as they primarily inhabit forests and mountainous regions.
In 1996, it was estimated that there were between 735,000 and 941,000 black bears in the United States and Canada combined.
Only seven states and one province had none.

Unlike grizzly bears, which became a subject of fearsome legend among the European settlers of North America, black bears were rarely considered overly dangerous, even though they lived in areas where the pioneers had settled. Black bears rarely attack when confronted by humans, and usually limit themselves to making mock charges, emitting blowing noises and swatting the ground with their forepaws.
According to
Stephen Herrero
Stephen Herrero is a Canadian professor emeritus of ecology at the University of Calgary. He is the author of ''Bear Attacks: Their Causes and Avoidance'', which has been described as "authoritative" and "required reading" on the topic.
Herrero ...
in his ''Bear Attacks: Their Causes and Avoidance'', 23 people were killed by black bears from 1900 to 1980. The North American Bear Center states that 61 people have been killed by black bears since 1900.
The number of black bear attacks on humans is higher than those of brown bears, though this is largely because black bears outnumber brown bears rather than being more aggressive. Compared to brown bear attacks, violent encounters with black bears rarely lead to serious injury and death. However, the majority of black bear attacks tend to be motivated by hunger rather than territoriality, and thus victims have a higher probability of surviving by fighting back rather than submitting. Unlike grizzlies, female black bears do not display the same level of protectiveness toward their cubs, and will seldom attack humans in their vicinity.
However, it is a very common occurrence for the American black bear to take food from campsites, and even from time to time break into people's homes to get food.
The worst recorded fatality incident occurred in May 1978, in which a black bear killed three teenagers fishing in Algonquin Park in Canada.
The majority of attacks happened in national parks, usually near campgrounds, where the bears had become
habituated to human contact and food.
Between 1964 and 1976 in the
Great Smoky Mountains National Park
Great Smoky Mountains National Park is a List of national parks of the United States, national park of the United States in the southeastern United States, southeast, with parts in North Carolina and Tennessee. The park straddles the ridgeline o ...
, there were 1,028 documented incidents of black bears acting aggressively toward people, 107 of which resulted in injury. These incidents occurred mainly in tourist hotspots, where people regularly fed the bears handouts.
Asian black bears
Though usually shy and cautious animals,
Asian black bear
The Asian black bear (''Ursus thibetanus''), also known as the Asiatic black bear, moon bear and white-chested bear, is a medium-sized bear species native to Asia that is largely adapted to an arboreal lifestyle. It is distributed from southeast ...
s are more aggressive toward humans than the brown bears of Eurasia.
[''Bear Anatomy and Physiology'' from Gary Brown's ''The Great Bear Almanac'', Lyons & Burford, Publishers, 1993] According to Brigadier General R.G. Burton:
E. T. Vere of
Srinagar
Srinagar (; ) is a city in Indian-administered Jammu and Kashmir in the disputed Kashmir region.The application of the term "administered" to the various regions of Kashmir and a mention of the Kashmir dispute is supported by the tertiary ...
,
Kashmir
Kashmir ( or ) is the Northwestern Indian subcontinent, northernmost geographical region of the Indian subcontinent. Until the mid-19th century, the term ''Kashmir'' denoted only the Kashmir Valley between the Great Himalayas and the Pir P ...
wrote of how his hospital received dozens of black bear victims annually. He wrote that, when attacking humans, black bears will rear up on their hind legs and knock victims over with their paws. They then make one or two bites on an arm or leg and finish with a snap to the head, this being the most dangerous part of the attack.
There are no records of predation on humans by Asiatic black bears in Russia and no conflicts have been documented in Taiwan. However, in India, attacks on humans have been increasing yearly and have occurred largely in the northwestern and western Himalayan region. In the
Chamba District
Chamba district is the northwestern district of Himachal Pradesh, in India, with its headquarters in Chamba town. The towns of Dalhousie, Khajjhiar and Churah Valley are popular hill stations and vacation spots for the people from the plains ...
of
Himachal Pradesh
Himachal Pradesh (; Sanskrit: ''himācāl prādes;'' "Snow-laden Mountain Province") is a States and union territories of India, state in the northern part of India. Situated in the Western Himalayas, it is one of the thirteen Indian Himalayan ...
, the number of black bear attacks on humans gradually increased from 10 in 1988–89 to 21 in 1991–92.
Recent bear attacks on humans have been reported from Junbesi and
Langtang National Park
Langtang National Park is a national park in north-central Nepal. It was established in 1976 as Nepal's first Himalayan national park and the country's fourth protected area. It covers an area of in the Nuwakot, Rasuwa and Sindhulpalchok Dist ...
in Nepal, and occurred in villages as well as in the surrounding forest.
Li Guoxing, the second person in history to have received a
facial transplant
A face transplant is a medical procedure to replace all or part of a person's face using tissue from a donor. Part
of a field called "Vascularized Composite Tissue Allotransplantation" (VCA) it involves the transplantation of facial skin, the n ...
, was a victim of a black bear attack.
Nine people were killed by black bears in Japan between 1979 and 1989,
and more recently, in September 2009, it was reported that a black bear attacked a group of tourists, seriously injuring four, while they were waiting at a bus station in the built-up area of Takayama, Gifu in central Japan.
The majority of attacks tend to occur when black bears are encountered suddenly, and at close quarters. Because of this, black bears are generally considered more dangerous than sympatric brown bears, which live in more open spaces and are thus less likely to be surprised by approaching humans.
[''A Book of Man Eaters'' by Brigadier General R. G. Burton, Mittal Publications] They are also likely to attack when protecting food.
["Bear Behaviour and Activities" from Gary Brown's ''The Great Bear Almanac'', Lyons & Burford, Publishers, 1993]
Brown bears
As a rule,
brown bear
The brown bear (''Ursus arctos'') is a large bear native to Eurasia and North America. Of the land carnivorans, it is rivaled in size only by its closest relative, the polar bear, which is much less variable in size and slightly bigger on av ...
s seldom attack humans on sight, and usually avoid people. They are, however, unpredictable in temperament, and will attack if they are surprised or feel threatened.
[''Bear Attacks: Their Causes and '' by Stephen Herrero, Hurtig Publishers Ltd./ Edmonton 1985] Sows with cubs account for the majority of injuries and fatalities in North America.
Habituated or food conditioned bears can also be dangerous, as their long-term exposure to humans causes them to lose their natural shyness, and in some cases associate humans with food. Small parties of one or two people are more often attacked than large groups, with no attacks being recorded against parties of more than seven people.
In contrast to injuries caused by American black bears, which are usually minor, brown bear attacks tend to result in serious injury and in some cases death.
In the majority of attacks resulting in injury, brown bears precede the attack with a growl or huffing sound,
and seem to confront humans as they would when fighting other bears: they rise up on their hind legs, and attempt to "disarm" their victims by biting and holding on to the lower jaw to avoid being bitten in turn.
Such a bite can be more severe than that of a tiger, and has been known to crush the heads of some human victims.
[''The living animals of the world; a popular natural history with one thousand illustrations'' Volume 1: Mammals](_blank)
by Cornish, C. J., 1858-1906; Selous, Frederick Courteney, 1851-1917; Johnston, Harry Hamilton, Sir, 1858-1927; Maxwell, Herbert, Sir, published by New York, Dodd, Mead and Company]
Most attacks occur in the months of July, August and September, the time when the number of outdoor recreationalists, such as hikers or hunters, is higher. People who assert their presence through noises tend to be less vulnerable, as they alert bears to their presence. In direct confrontations, people who run are statistically more likely to be attacked than those who stand their ground. Violent encounters with brown bears usually last only a few minutes, though they can be prolonged if the victims fight back.
Attacks on humans are considered extremely rare in the
former Soviet Union
The post-Soviet states, also referred to as the former Soviet Union or the former Soviet republics, are the independent sovereign states that emerged/re-emerged from the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991. Prior to their independence, they ...
, though exceptions exist in districts where they are not pursued by hunters.
East Siberian brown bear
The East Siberian brown bear (''Ursus arctos collaris'') is a population or subspecies of brown bear which ranges from eastern Siberia, beginning at the Yenisei river, north to the Arctic Circle, as far as Trans-Baikaliya, the Stanovoy Range, t ...
s for example tend to be much bolder toward humans than their shyer, more frequently hunted
European counterparts. In 2008, a
platinum
Platinum is a chemical element; it has Symbol (chemistry), symbol Pt and atomic number 78. It is a density, dense, malleable, ductility, ductile, highly unreactive, precious metal, precious, silverish-white transition metal. Its name origina ...
mining compound in the remote
Olyotorsky district of northern Kamchatka was besieged by a group of 30
Kamchatka brown bear
The Kamchatka brown bear (''Ursus arctos beringianus''), also known as the Far Eastern brown bear, is a subspecies of brown bear native to the Russian Kamchatka Peninsula.
Description
The Kamchatka brown bear is the biggest brown bear in Euras ...
s that killed two guards and prevented workers from leaving their homes. In Scandinavia, only three fatal attacks were recorded in the 20th century.
Due to increasing brown bear population in
Turkey
Turkey, officially the Republic of Türkiye, is a country mainly located in Anatolia in West Asia, with a relatively small part called East Thrace in Southeast Europe. It borders the Black Sea to the north; Georgia (country), Georgia, Armen ...
, attacks still occur in mountainous areas of Northeastern Turkey.
Native American
Native Americans or Native American usually refers to Native Americans in the United States.
Related terms and peoples include:
Ethnic groups
* Indigenous peoples of the Americas, the pre-Columbian peoples of North, South, and Central America ...
tribes whose territories overlapped with those of
grizzly bear
The grizzly bear (''Ursus arctos horribilis''), also known as the North American brown bear or simply grizzly, is a population or subspecies of the brown bear inhabiting North America.
In addition to the mainland grizzly (''Ursus arctos horr ...
s often viewed them with a mixture of awe and fear. North American brown bears were so feared by the Natives that they were rarely hunted, especially alone. When Natives hunted grizzlies, the act was done with the same preparation and ceremoniality as intertribal warfare, and was never done except with a company of 4 to 10 warriors. The tribe members who dealt the killing blow were highly esteemed among their compatriots. Californian Indians actively avoided prime bear habitat, and would not allow their young men to hunt alone, for fear of bear attacks. During the Spanish colonial period, some tribes, instead of hunting grizzlies themselves, would seek aid from European colonists to deal with problem bears. Many authors in the American west wrote of Natives or voyagers with lacerated faces and missing noses or eyes due to attacks from grizzlies.
Within Yellowstone National Park, injuries caused by grizzly attacks in developed areas averaged approximately 1 per year during the 1930s through the 1950s, though it increased to 4 per year during the 1960s. They then decreased to 1 injury every 2 years (0.5/year) during the 1970s. Between 1980 and 2002, there were only 2 grizzly bear-caused human injuries in a developed area. However, although grizzly attacks were rare in the back-country before 1970, the number of attacks increased to an average of approximately 1 per year during the 1970s, 1980s, and 1990s.
According to bear biologist Charles Jonkel, one reason for bear attacks is the lack of important foods such as
huckleberry
Huckleberry is a name used in North America for several plants in the family Ericaceae, in two closely related genera: ''Vaccinium'' and ''Gaylussacia''.
Nomenclature
The name 'huckleberry' is a North American variation of the English dialectal ...
,
buffalo berry, and white-bark
pine nut
Pine nuts, also called piñón (), pinoli (), or pignoli, are the edible seeds of pines (family Pinaceae, genus ''Pinus''). According to the Food and Agriculture Organization, only 29 species provide edible nuts, while 20 are traded locall ...
. Winter freezes may be one reason for the food shortages.
Polar bears
Polar bears
The polar bear (''Ursus maritimus'') is a large bear native to the Arctic and nearby areas. It is closely related to the brown bear, and the two species can interbreed. The polar bear is the largest extant species of bear and land carnivo ...
, particularly starving males, will hunt humans for food, though attacks on humans by female bears are rare. The earliest recorded account of a polar bear attack was written in 1595. It described a predatory attack on two people from
Willem Barentsz
Willem Barentsz (; – 20 June 1597), anglicized as William Barents or Barentz, was a Dutch Republic, Dutch navigator, cartographer, and Arctic explorer.
Barentsz went on three expeditions to the far north in search for a Northern Sea Route, N ...
's crew in the Russian Arctic. Between 1870 and 2014, out of 73 recorded polar bear attacks there were 20 human fatalities and 69 injuries. Polar bears are often judged as the predators in these interactions as nearly all recorded attacks happened to groups of at least two people.
A polar bear
killed one and injured four others on 5 August 2011 in the
Norwegian archipelago of
Svalbard
Svalbard ( , ), previously known as Spitsbergen or Spitzbergen, is a Norway, Norwegian archipelago that lies at the convergence of the Arctic Ocean with the Atlantic Ocean. North of continental Europe, mainland Europe, it lies about midway be ...
when it attacked a party of secondary school students with the British Schools Exploring Society who were camped near the Von Post glacier, some 25 miles (40 km) from the settlement of
Longyearbyen
Longyearbyen (, , "Longyear Town") is the world's northernmost settlements, northernmost settlement with a population greater than 1,000, and the capital and the largest inhabited area of Svalbard. It stretches along the foot of the left bank ( ...
.
Rising temperatures cause polar bears to move inland; possibly impacting the rate of attacks.
Sloth bears
In some areas of
India
India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...
and
Burma
Myanmar, officially the Republic of the Union of Myanmar; and also referred to as Burma (the official English name until 1989), is a country in northwest Southeast Asia. It is the largest country by area in Mainland Southeast Asia and ha ...
,
sloth bear
The sloth bear (''Melursus ursinus''), also known as the Indian bear, is a myrmecophagous bear species native to the Indian subcontinent. It feeds on fruits, ants and termites. It is listed as vulnerable on the IUCN Red List, mainly because of ...
s are more feared than tigers, due to their unpredictable temperament.
In
Madhya Pradesh
Madhya Pradesh (; ; ) is a state in central India. Its capital is Bhopal and the largest city is Indore, Indore. Other major cities includes Gwalior, Jabalpur, and Sagar, Madhya Pradesh, Sagar. Madhya Pradesh is the List of states and union te ...
, sloth bear attacks accounted for the deaths of 48 people and the injuring of 686 others between the years 1989 and 1994, probably due in part to the density of population and competition for food sources. One specimen, known as the
sloth bear of Mysore
The Sloth bear of Mysore was an unusually aggressive Indian sloth bear responsible for the deaths of at least 12 people and the mauling of two dozen others in 1957. It was killed by Kenneth Anderson, who described it in his memoirs ''Man-Eaters ...
, was single-handedly responsible for the deaths of 12 people and the mutilation of 2 dozen others before being shot by
Kenneth Anderson. Sloth bears defend themselves when surprised, with the majority of confrontations occurring at night. They typically charge on all fours with their head held low, before rearing on their hind legs and striking at their attackers with their claws and teeth.
Other bears
Generally,
giant pandas
The giant panda (''Ailuropoda melanoleuca''), also known as the panda bear or simply panda, is a bear species endemic to China. It is characterised by its white coat with black patches around the eyes, ears, legs and shoulders. Its body is ...
will not attack humans. They are known for their gentle, docile nature. Many recorded panda attacks are a result of humans falling or jumping into their zoo enclosure unexpectedly.
Spectacled bears rarely attack humans, though they may develop a taste for cattle on occasion.
History of human–bear relationships

According to ''Wild Bears of the Worlds'', by Paul Ward and Suzanne Kynaston, human contact with bears has existed since the time of the
Neanderthals
Neanderthals ( ; ''Homo neanderthalensis'' or sometimes ''H. sapiens neanderthalensis'') are an extinction, extinct group of archaic humans who inhabited Europe and Western and Central Asia during the Middle Pleistocene, Middle to Late Plei ...
and the European
cave bear
The cave bear (''Ursus spelaeus'') is a prehistoric species of bear that lived in Europe and Asia during the Pleistocene and became extinct about 24,000 years ago during the Last Glacial Maximum.
Both the word ''cave'' and the scientific name '' ...
around 200,000 to 75,000 years ago. There is some evidence of cave bear worship during these early years: between the years 1917 and 1922, Emil Bachler discovered a large stone chest filled with cave bear skulls in the Drachenloch Cave in
Switzerland
Switzerland, officially the Swiss Confederation, is a landlocked country located in west-central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the south, France to the west, Germany to the north, and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east. Switzerland ...
, one of the
Wildkirchli
Wildkirchli () are three interlinked caves situated in the Alpstein massif in the Appenzell Innerrhoden canton of Switzerland, north-east of Mount Säntis Switzerland. The caves are located at a height of . They are notable for the traces of Pale ...
; between 1916 and 1922, Konrad Hormann found narrow niches filled with five cave bear skulls.
Ward and Kynaston go on to report that
Cro-Magnon
Cro-Magnons or European early modern humans (EEMH) were the first early modern humans (''Homo sapiens'') to settle in Europe, migrating from western Asia, continuously occupying the continent possibly from as early as 56,800 years ago. They in ...
humans, who first appeared nearly 35,000 years ago, show more obvious evidence of cave bear worship in the forms of paintings, sculptures, and engravings; however, there is still some doubt as to whether these works specifically depict the cave bear or the European brown bear.
In the 1900s, bear populations had been decreasing because of increased
hunting of bears for sustenance (done mostly by native peoples such as the
Inupiat of Alaska and the
Inuvialuit
The Inuvialuit (sing. Inuvialuk; ''the real people'') or Western Canadian Inuit are Inuit who live in the western Canadian Arctic region. They, like all other Inuit, are descendants of the Thule who migrated eastward from Alaska. Their homelan ...
of Canada) and for trophy prizes. Polar bear skins became popular as a sign of wealth and prestige, especially in Europe during the Victorian era. Comparatively, the pelts of
giant panda
The giant panda (''Ailuropoda melanoleuca''), also known as the panda bear or simply panda, is a bear species endemic to China. It is characterised by its white animal coat, coat with black patches around the eyes, ears, legs and shoulders. ...
s were also highly valued, priced at around 176,000 U.S. dollars. Settlers, indigenous, villagers and farmers defended their families and livestock by killing the local predators, including bears. This practice is still in place where necessary and legal.
More recently, laws have been instated to protect the dwindling populations of bears; however, as stated in ''Return of the Grizzly'' by David Whitman, these laws have increased the tensions between bears and humans. While this allows bear populations to recuperate, it also prevents people from killing bears that have invaded their property and killed their livestock.
In 2024, the "
man or bear
"Man or bear" (also called "man vs. bear") is a Viral phenomenon, viral social media debate in which women consider whether they would prefer to be alone in the woods with a man or a bear. The meme originates from a TikTok video by Screenshot HQ ...
" meme sparked debate that women are more likely to face assault from men than bears.
Natural weapons and armor
The various species of bear are well-developed for survival, both for attaining food and defending against predators, including unarmed humans. The different species all have the same general physical characteristics and senses that allow them to adapt to situations that threaten their survival.
Fur
A bear's fur is often very thick, and it can function much like armor. In situations between bears and other predators, such as humans, this thick fur acts with the bear's thick skin and layers of fat as a buffer against most physical attacks, sometimes buffering to some extent even against firearms. According to Charles Fergus' ''Wild Guide: Bears'', bear fur is also a source of insulation that allows bears to inhabit almost any habitat, from the hot jungles inhabited by sun bears and sloth bears to the frozen tundra inhabited by polar bears, thus occupying most of the same territory as humanity.
Muscle
A bear's muscular structure is highly suited for strength and power. Polar bears are known to swim for kilometers in search of food and to scoop seals out of the water.
Grizzly bears can bring down prey, such as
bison
A bison (: bison) is a large bovine in the genus ''Bison'' (from Greek, meaning 'wild ox') within the tribe Bovini. Two extant taxon, extant and numerous extinction, extinct species are recognised.
Of the two surviving species, the American ...
or
moose
The moose (: 'moose'; used in North America) or elk (: 'elk' or 'elks'; used in Eurasia) (''Alces alces'') is the world's tallest, largest and heaviest extant species of deer and the only species in the genus ''Alces''. It is also the tal ...
, that outweigh the bear by several hundred kilograms and can steal kills from entire packs of wolves. Their top speed running on all fours has been reported to be around . By comparison,
Usain Bolt
Usain St. Leo Bolt (; born 21 August 1986) is a Jamaican retired sprinter who is widely regarded as the greatest sprinter of all time. He is an eight-time Olympic gold medalist and the world record holder in the 100 metres, 200 metres, ...
ran at a record-breaking speed of at the
2008 Summer Olympics
The 2008 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXIX Olympiad () and officially branded as Beijing 2008 (), were an international multisport event held from 8 to 24 August 2008, in Beijing, China. A total of 10,942 athletes fro ...
.
"Usain Bolt 100m 10 meter Splits and Speed Endurance" by Jimson Lee, dated August 22, 2008
Retrieved on July 1, 2009. Most people are incapable of reaching speeds even remotely close to this number; thus, it is impossible for a human to outrun a bear, even one not running at its highest possible speed.
Claws
Bears have five digits on each dextrous paw, each digit with a long non-retractable claw. The shape of the claw differs between the bear species: black bear claws are strong and curved, which allows them to claw at tree bark; grizzly bear claws are long and straight, ideal for digging, and can be up to long; polar bear claws are thick and sharp for holding the slippery skins of seals.
Jaws
The jaws of a bear reflect its omnivorous eating habits. A bear has forty-two teeth, with canines, which can be even longer than those of a tiger. While a bear's canines can pierce flesh and tear meat, a bear's back teeth are relatively flat, better suited for eating plants rather than meat. However, the jaws of bears are controlled by large muscles that are capable of crushing bones, which gives access to the nutritious marrow within. Some grizzly bears have jaws that can bite through pine trees.
Humans in contrast have thirty-two teeth, sixteen on each jaw, each tooth less than a half-inch long. Of these teeth, there are four incisors, two canines, four premolars, and six molars. While human incisors are capable of biting into meat, bears have more powerful jaw muscles, which make their bite more destructive to flesh.["Teeth" par. 2] More appropriate comparisons to bear dentition are to those of dogs whose teeth are similar in proportion to those of bears (and of course much smaller, although capable of inflicting much damage even at their smaller size).
Other senses and characteristics
Bears' senses are likely similar to those of dogs, animals that at times have much the same build and dietary habits of bears.
Bears' sense of smell is dependent on a Jacobson's organ, or vomeronasal organ
The vomeronasal organ (VNO), or Jacobson's organ, is the paired auxiliary olfactory (smell) sense organ located in the soft tissue of the nasal septum, in the nasal cavity just above the roof of the mouth (the hard palate) in various tetrapods ...
, which allows the bear to easily detect airborne scents. Bears use this sense of smell not only to hunt, but to detect other bears as well; male bears use smell to stay away from other male bears and to find female bears during mating season. While humans have a sense of olfaction, or smell, and they do use it for communication; its usual range is around 10 square centimeters as compared to a polar bear that can smell a seal from away.
Little is known about a bear's hearing, but scientists concluded that it is at least as good as a human's. Some scientists believe that bears may even be able to detect ultrasonic sounds as well.
Natural observers believe that most bear species are near-sighted, which allows bears to forage for small objects such as berries. However, bears are also capable of discerning faraway movements, helping them hunt prey. The Kodiak bear, when compared to other species, appears to have vision comparable to a human (not near-sighted). Experiments show that black bears can see color, unlike many mammals. With scientists still working to determine exactly how perceptive bear eyes are, it is difficult to compare bear eyesight with human eyesight.
Recovery from bear attacks
Aside from the large lacerations, fractures, and other wounds that can result from bear attacks, infections are also physically detrimental. A bear's mouth is full of potentially harmful bacteria
Bacteria (; : bacterium) are ubiquitous, mostly free-living organisms often consisting of one Cell (biology), biological cell. They constitute a large domain (biology), domain of Prokaryote, prokaryotic microorganisms. Typically a few micr ...
, especially if the bear has been feeding on a gut pile or feces. Bear bites can result in infection
An infection is the invasion of tissue (biology), tissues by pathogens, their multiplication, and the reaction of host (biology), host tissues to the infectious agent and the toxins they produce. An infectious disease, also known as a transmis ...
s common to most animal bite
An animal bite is a wound, usually a puncture or laceration, caused by the teeth. An animal bite usually results in a break in the skin but also includes contusions from the excessive pressure on body tissue from the bite. The contusions can occu ...
s, including abscess
An abscess is a collection of pus that has built up within the tissue of the body, usually caused by bacterial infection. Signs and symptoms of abscesses include redness, pain, warmth, and swelling. The swelling may feel fluid-filled when pre ...
es, sepsis
Sepsis is a potentially life-threatening condition that arises when the body's response to infection causes injury to its own tissues and organs.
This initial stage of sepsis is followed by suppression of the immune system. Common signs and s ...
, and even rabies
Rabies is a viral disease that causes encephalitis in humans and other mammals. It was historically referred to as hydrophobia ("fear of water") because its victims panic when offered liquids to drink. Early symptoms can include fever and abn ...
. Though there is little data, what is available from bear bite statistics indicates that bears do not tend to carry many of the most well-known dangerous anaerobic bacteria strains in their normal oral flora; however, given the circumstances of most bear attacks, wound contamination from the environment is highly likely and means there is risk of tetanus
Tetanus (), also known as lockjaw, is a bacterial infection caused by ''Clostridium tetani'' and characterized by muscle spasms. In the most common type, the spasms begin in the jaw and then progress to the rest of the body. Each spasm usually l ...
and other external microbial agents.
Recovery from bear attacks depends on the extent of damage, but often involves long-term medical treatment. As shown in the medical procedure led by Professor Shuzhong Guo, extreme cases of bear attacks have resulted in plastic surgeries and even facial transplants that, while successful, may take several years to complete and are sometimes fatal.
See also
* List of fatal bear attacks in North America
This is a list of human deaths caused by bear attacks in North America by decade in reverse chronological order. These fatalities have been documented through news media, reports, cause-of-death statistics, scientific papers, or other sources. Fo ...
* Sloth bear of Mysore
The Sloth bear of Mysore was an unusually aggressive Indian sloth bear responsible for the deaths of at least 12 people and the mauling of two dozen others in 1957. It was killed by Kenneth Anderson, who described it in his memoirs ''Man-Eaters ...
* Sankebetsu brown bear incident
The , also known as the or the , was a series of bear attacks which took place 9-15 December 1915, at the beginning of the Taishō era, in a remote area of Hokkaido, Japan. Over the course of six snowy days, a male Ezo brown bear attacked a nu ...
* Bear danger
Bear danger is the risk encountered by humans and their pets or livestock when interacting with bears and the potential of an Bear attack, attack from bears.
Although most bears are apex predators in their own habitat, most do not, under norma ...
* Timothy Treadwell
Timothy Treadwell (born Timothy William Dexter; April 29, 1957 – October 5, 2003) was an American bear enthusiast, environmentalist, documentary filmmaker, and founder of the bear-protection organization Grizzly People. He lived among coas ...
* Binky (polar bear)
Binky (1975 – July 20, 1995) was a captive male polar bear who lived at the Alaska Zoo in Anchorage. In separate incidents in 1994, Binky mauled two zoo visitors; these events received international news coverage.
He was originally orphaned n ...
* List of large carnivores known to prey on humans
References
Sources
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* "Death Statistics Comparison". UnitedJustice.com. 7 December 2008. 7 December 2008
Death Statistics
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* Simmons, Shraga. "Olympic Champions". aish.com 22 August 2004. 17 November 2008
Olympic Champions
* "Teeth". The Internet Encyclopedia of Science: Anatomy & Physiology. 17 November 2008
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External links
Bear Attack Videos
Are guns more effective than pepper spray in an Alaska bear attack?
Alaska Bear Attack Survivor - Dan Bigley
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TS-1000801 Liard Hot Springs Black bear Attack Uploaded by Rich.Vernadeau at Your Listen
The Guthrie daily leader., July 07, 1894, Image 4 "Trapped and fought a bear.."
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