The American black bear is the world’s most numerous bear species, with an estimated 750,000 to 950,000 living in Canada and the US. They tend to congregate in groups, unlike other bears that are more solitary.
This, together with their numbers, makes them the ‘bear most likely to be spotted’ on a wilderness walk in North America. They also like hanging round campsites, raiding tents and pulling the doors off cars to find food. Although they generally try hard to avoid humans, many YouTube videos bear witness (pardon the pun) to bears that have been caught on CCTV in people’s gardens, exploring the decking and sometimes enjoying a splash in the family’s paddling pool.
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American blacks are not too large – standing perhaps 2m (6ft) tall if they rear up – but they are muscly and strong and will attack if they feel threatened, especially by a hiker with a dog. They are not as aggressive as some of the brown bear species, but because there are a lot of them about they inevitably get involved in people conflicts more than other types of bear.
Statistics produced by the North American Bear Center record 61 people having been killed by black bears since 1900. If that doesn’t sound a lot, be assured that there are many, many more instances of people being mauled if they don’t manage to evade an attack. However, the bear’s aim is normally to see off an invader to protect its cubs, not kill it. They certainly don’t see people as food. Death is an unfortunate consequence of people being more fragile than rival bears.
So you have a good chance of surviving an American black attack, but it will be like being hit by a grand piano with teeth and claws and you won’t escape unscathed!
