Bear Encounters
I once attended a lecture given by a wildlife biologist, an expert on bears, and he said you can do everything you can possibly do WRONG when it comes to bears, and yet you'll get out alive at least 90% of the time. So even if you do everything wrong, for instance throwing food at the bear, you still (statistically) have a very good chance to get out alive.
"The bear retreated for a moment but then came back and began circling Jones-Robinson, who took her pack off and threw a package of macaroni and cheese at the bear hoping to distract it."
http://www.newsminer.com/north-pole-woman-uses-insect-repellent-to-fend-off-granite/article_cddf6c53-3e9b-5ccb-9d49-593713fb8dec.html
"While playing dead is the proper technique once a bear has already made contact or contact is imminent, playing dead too early can cause the bear to become curious, according to information from the park."
http://www.newsminer.com/news/alaska_news/grizzly-bites-hiker-at-denali-national-park/article_9a60c0ea-40bd-11e6-a4d6-b782070bf083.html
Bears with cubs is a whole different story, you do not want to come between a mama bear and her cubs, but being attacked by the same bear twice, in one day after deploying bearspray seems a bit odd to me, and could probably be put in the category below, of bears that are just not right. But I am no expert in bear behavior.
"During the first attack, he yelled, deployed bear spray as the sow charged him from about 25 feet, and rolled into a ball to play dead. The bear repeatedly chewed and jumped on him as he tried to protect his head." "He did everything he was supposed to do," said Madison County Sheriff Roger Thompson.
Playing dead once you are already attacked is the best way to survive, if its a territorial grizzly.
"Out of nowhere, the bear attacked him again and did the same thing to him," "She just seemed to lose interest because he was playing dead," said Thompson. "Then she just wandered off. Bears can be that way when they have their babies with them."
http://mtstandard.com/news/local/survivor-of-grizzly-attack-tells-harrowing-tale/article_c8a7c60b-596f-5deb-a970-127e07dc7a37.htm
Now then there is another percentage, a small percentage of bears that are just not right. Their bear behavior do not follow the natural bear behavior, now if you meet that bear you can do everything completely right and still might not get out alive. You can also run into that bear as a large group of people and the bear will still come at you, which is rare. A group of people being attacked by a bear is far less common than a single person. They say, if you are being attacked by a predatory black bear you need to fight, fight for your life.
"Despite Kitchen's bravery, McConnell was mauled to death in front of the eyes of her 13-year-old son, Kelly, who was also attacked while bravely trying to save his mother. Witnesses say the bear turned on Kitchen, attacking him and killing him while witnesses tried in vain to save him. According to a police report, a kick made the bear withdraw into the bush. It then came upon four university students who turned and ran. A 20-year-old Calgary student slipped and was attacked. Police said the bear was shot while in the midst of this attack."
https://www.nnsl.com/archives/1997-08/aug22_97bear.html
