well black bears normally attack with the intentions of eating you . where grizzles will normally maul and leave you alone if they think your no longer a threat to them . black bears are normally making you a food source . it is best to fight for your life with a black bear .

that being said i live in the adirondacks mountains with lots of black bears and see them every year out in the woods . and have never had an encounter with one that was bad for me . and only know one guy that ever had a run in with one , a sow with cubs . she bluffed charged a few times he backed off slowly they both went on with their day . you stand a much better chance of falling out of your tree stand and dieing than you do getting attacked by a black bear .

Blackie is likely more afraid of you than you are of him. Having said that though, I don't go to the tall timber unarmed anymore. Friend of mine had a close call once with rabid animals, sow bear with cubs, coyotes that think your leg looks good, two legged predators, I'd rather carry it a million miles and never need it, than to need it once and not have it.

Sign the WA Mtnhunter-Ursus Peace Accord.

Translated: I leave the bears alone and they leave me alone. I don't hunt them and they don't hunt me. Good treaty so far. I think I have scared more of them than they have me.

I've had two black bear encounters. Both times they were more interested in departing than confrontation. Unless you have one cornered, or are suddenly really close to a sow & cubs, or you have a sirloin steak on a lanyard around your neck I don't think you have much to worry about. +1 on the bear spray and if you can legally carry a pistol, consider doing so. Having a pistol saved a friend of mine from a Brown bear.

P.S. Don't carry Nutter Butter cookies into the woods.

You don't have anything to worry about. There has been a half a dozen times where I was less than 10 feet away, twice I was in a corn field and the very next row the bear ran past me. So if does not have cubs nothing to worry about. But if has cubs and you try anything stupid let trying to pet them then momma will defend her cubs.

if it is a bear that has gotten too used to humans, a bear that has been fed, you might have something to worry about. Otherwise not much to worry about. If it does attack, I have heard what Cooner says, that you better fight for your life. This is the opposite of the Grizzly, when it attacks you do the fall to the ground and cover up bit ... these are two different bears.

I do believe that you have little to fear and usually it's a great experience to see a black bear in the wild. That being said, I believe that I would carry an adequate rifle if I were walking or working in the area. 007 said it pretty good-always better to have it!!

with the bear population explosion in New England we teach our hikers/campers/hunters to "stop" thinking like humans when dealing with wildlife. "more afraid of you than you are of them," is an old wives tale. Wild animals don't feel human 'fear'. They react to survive. If there is an escape route from a larger, dangerous animal, they will take it. Without weapons a human is just another potential food source. The "east of the Mississippi" human/bear encounters this year are phenomenal as populations rise and humans invade even more habitat for residential construction. As competition for food increases, these encounters will become moreserious over the next several years. They dislike loud noise, and their eyesight allows you to raise your hands while standing up, appearing to be much larger. If that doesn't work, and they come in, fight for your life...because that's exactly what you will be doing.

If it was a Brown Bear then you should play dead. But always fight back against Black Bears. I live in Alaska and we deal with Black bears weekly. They are very timid when confronted and will only fight when cornered or have their offspring endangered.

If you don't have any weapons, and if the bear gets on top of you, when it's mouth is open, shove your fist down its throat. When you do that, its gag reflex comes into play and you'll have a few seconds to regain your composure. It sounds like a crazy idea but if your life depends on it, do it.

Since you have already encountered it, I would invest in some bear spray. It is not very expensive, and will not make you feel as helpless should you be confronted.

cooner said it all. grizzlies will bat u around a bit and leave you alone if they think u aint a threat, but if a black bear messes with u his intentions are sportsman stirfry. fight for your life. take out your knife(if u go in the woods with no knife then u have no business on this website) and try and stab it in the face,throat, and vitals if he gets on top of u. but no matter what, DO NOT RUN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! that only tells the bear that u are prey and will egg him on....or just take a gun in the woods in the first place.

Skeeb,

YEAH RIGHT, and he'll just stand there and let you choke him to death with your fist! That might be something that would happen on a 3 Stooges episode, but this is a wild animal, you think he's not going to try to get away from your hand, and you think he'll also passively not do anything with those front paws? You'd best stay out of the woods and at the Mall.

don't feed bears or come betwwen mamma and her cubs and you'll be fine

Just shoot it.