Bear mauling: a descriptive review.
OBJECTIVE
Provide a descriptive review of bear and human interactions in the United States.


METHODS
Descriptive review.


RESULTS
The bear population in the United States includes the grizzly bear, the polar bear, and the black bear, including the glacier phase or blue bear. As the human population grew and remote or wilderness access improved, the bear population suffered both in total numbers and safe habitat. Conservation efforts, such as hunting restrictions and habitat enhancement, have helped to increase the total numbers of bears on the North American continent. The chance of a human encountering a bear increases as the remote bear territory diminishes. Bear incidents are widely publicized, though few serious incidents occur. The authors have direct knowledge of these bear-human encounters in Alaska. Serious human injuries from black bears, or maulings, including fatalities are uncommon. Grizzly bears when trapped or stimulated may be very dangerous. The polar bear sees everything that moves or has color, as potential food, and therefore, will attack seemingly unprovoked.


CONCLUSIONS
The chance of a human encountering a bear increases as the remote bear territory diminishes. Bear incidents are widely publicized, though few serious incidents occur.
Dieter
R A
RA
Glen Ellyn Clinic, Illinois 60137, USA.
Dieter
D L
DL
Dieter
R A
RA
Forbes
B
B
D000818:Animals; D000835:Animals, Wild; D001733:Bites and Stings / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000401:mortality; D004777:Environment; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D011158:Population Growth; D013045:Species Specificity; D014481:United States / Q000453:epidemiology; D001503:Ursidae / Q000382:microbiology / Q000821:virology