Black bears can be just as dangerous, if not moreso, than grizzlies. It was a young, starving black bear that killed 3 and mauled 3 at Liard Hot Springs in Canada several years ago. A bear is strong enough to tear the door off a car, and they will defend not only their young, but anything they perceive as food, and they can exhibit predatory behavior, i.e. stalk and hunt you.The poor bears are being run out of their habitat by the burgeoning Southern California population, but we can co-exist with them easily if we clean up the environment and not leave food and garbage laying around. If you encounter a bear, make yourself big and try to shoo it away, but if it charges you, don't try to outrun it, you can't. Hunch down, cover your head and play dead. It would be a shame if a bear ended up being shot because a lot of city folk think they are no more threatening than a dog, and end up getting mauled.
