A photo of her surviving cub stole the front page of the local newspaper. My brush was paralyzed for days as I combed through reference books about black bears. I wanted to know why humans fear them enough to take their lives. They are skillful tree climbers, quick to react, powerful and harmless to people except when provoked, cornered or injured. Native Americans who reside in bear territory honor black bears as relatives because of their similarity to humans.
Bears stand on two feet.
They use their forepaws like hands. They come in many colors. Throughout the West, black bears are often brown, cinnamon or blond. This was perhaps an unfortunate event for the wild bear because it has distorted our expectations of its natural behavior. The black bear's friendliness is often misinterpreted as aggression, and we've come to fear its size and strength.