Environmental News Script
by Kevin O'Donnell
 September 10, 2000

This past May, a hiker in the Great Smoky Mountains National park
-- along Little river trail, near Elkmont campground -- was
apparently attacked and killed by a 111-pound female black bear and
her 40 pound yearling.

The tragic incident was widely reported in the news media, along
with the disturbing detail that the bears had, indeed, eaten parts
of the hiker's body.

But it's important to keep this incident in perspective.  Black
bear attacks on humans -- especially fatal attacks -- are extremely
rare.  This incident was the first deadly black bear attack in the
sixty-six-year history of the park.  It was the first EVER in the
southeastern united states.  And, in all of North America, only 43
black bear mauling deaths have ever been recorded.

Nonetheless, black bear populations appear to be on the rise in the
southeast.  About 1800 black bears live in the Smokies alone.  So
it can't hurt to think ahead about what you should do, in the
highly unlikely event that you find yourself in a tight spot with
a black bear.

Stephen Herrero, in his book, Bear Attacks: Their Causes and
Avoidance, says that the best thing to do if you find yourself
facing a black bear is to make noise, while slowly backing away.

Do NOT run, because running could provoke a charge.  Also, do not
block the bear's escape route.  And NEVER place yourself between a
sow and a cub.

If a black bear DOES start to approach you, stand your ground, make
noise, and wave your hands to make yourself appear as big as
possible.

In the extremely rare case where a black bear actually charges, the
best thing to do, according to Herrero, is to fight for your life.
Use all your resources -- fists, feet, sticks, whatever you have,
to fight the critter off.

That's how you deal with a BLACK bear, according to the experts.

However, do not confuse that with how you handle a Grizzly Bear.
There are no Grizzlies in the east, of course.  And the Grizzlies
in the American Rocky Mountains were largely wiped out by the early
20th century.  But Grizzly populations out west have rebounded
somewhat in the past few decades.  And Grizzly fatalities, though
very rare, do occur.  According to Herrero, Grizzlies killed an
average of two people per year in North America during the 1990's.

A U.S. Forest Service pamphlet entitled "Living with Grizzlies"
says that if you encounter a grizzly, you should "stay calm, drop
something like your hat or gloves on the ground in front of you and
slowly back away, speaking in a soft monotone."

If the Grizzly charges you, stand still, because it may turn out to
be a "bluff charge."  If the grizzly keeps charging, roll up in a
cannonball and play dead.

Whatever you do, don't even THINK about yelling at a Grizzly, much
less fighting one.  Unlike the black bear, the grizzly is just too
massive and ferocious to mess with.  Oh, and make sure not to look
the grizzly in the eye, because that will only make the bear mad.
And you do not want to do that.

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