Requirements for human-bear contact:
(1) within inhabited range for the bear (exception: zoo or trained animal)
(2) during period of bear activity (not during a period of hibernation)
(3) human presence (more people are in the wilderness during the Summer and Fall)
Risk factors for an attack:
(1) coming upon a bear unexpectedly
(2) human provocation
(3) perceived threat
(4) smell of food or blood
(5) hungry or aggressive bear
(6) person runs away or panics with wild motions
Situations when a person may come upon a bear unexpectedly:
(1) thick underbrush or forest
(2) fog or other cause of poor visibility
(3) single person moving silently (such as a hunter) or a small party widely separated
Human provocation:
(1) drunken
(2) approaching too close
(3) trying to feed by hand
(4) trying to photograph up close
Perceived threat by bear:
(1) sow with cubs
(2) protection of hidden carcass (bears may partially bury large animals they have been feeding on)
Hungry or aggressive bear:
(1) ill or injured
(2) young male
(3) old
(4) starving
