Grizzly And Black-Bear Attacks

Bear attacks are rare, however, in bear-country areas where humans and bears coexist such as British Columbia (BC), the encounters are nearly inevitable. This study looks at newspaper articles on grizzly and black bear attacks on humans in BC and analyses an spatial or temporal trends from 2000-2016. The data showed that grizzlies had a higher attack rate of 18 attacks/10,000 individuals than black bears with 1.9 attacks. 10,000 individuals. Females with cubs also showed to have the highest frequency in attacks within the last 16 years. The locations of these attacks were quite variable with minimal patterns, however, generally, grizzly bear attacks occurred in the backcountry while black bear attacks ensued more in the front country with greater
developments. This study reveals how different each species of bears are and how variability between time and space can change the rate of attacks. It also shows how rare bear attacks really are, however, highlights that they are still occurring and further efforts in bringing awareness and safety into communities and industries in bear country is required.