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The sloth bear (Melursus ursinus) is endemic to India, Nepal, Bhutan, and Sri Lanka, and is among the least studied of all bear species. Sloth bears behave aggressively toward humans when they feel threatened and are considered among the most dangerous wild animals in India. Our research objective was to interview those that had close encounters with sloth bears and attack survivors so that we could learn from these unfortunate events and prepare persons to be safe in sloth bear country. Consequently, we interviewed 342 people—162 that had close encounters that did not result in attacks and 180 that were involved in attacks—in the southern Indian state of Karnataka between the years 1985 and 2016. Our surveys revealed that all attacks were defensive in nature, that people that had been making noise while moving through sloth bear country were less likely to be attacked, and that persons in groups of ≥2 were very rarely attacked. Nine percent of people that fought back during an attack were killed and 11% of people that attempted to run from the bear were killed. There were no deaths among people that fell to the ground and did not fight back. Drawing from this work and that of others, we provide suggestions for safe conduct in sloth bear country.

We measured American black bear (Ursus americanus) responses to hikers, small power skiffs, kayakers, and overnight campsites within coastal salt marsh foraging areas. To accomplish this, we experimentally approached bears in the intertidal and supratidal zones of Aialik Bay (AB) and Nuka Bay (NB), Kenai Fjords National Park, Alaska. We chose these areas due to their different levels of human activity (AB = high, NB = low). In the first experiments, we determined the overt response distances (ORD: when bears first responded to our approaches) and flight initiation distances (FID: the distance at which bears were pushed from their original location) for 118 black bear groups involving 136 bears. We found no difference between ORD response to power skiffs and versus kayaks, nor between those responding to kayaks versus foot approaches. However, bears first responded to power skiffs 50 m farther than first responses to foot approaches. There was no difference in FID between all modes of approach...

We present a database application designed to standardize the collection and entry of brown and black bear (Ursus arctos and U. americanus)-human interaction data, formalize data storage methods, and analyze patterns of bear-human interactions in Alaska's National Parks. The National Park Service Alaska Region Bear-Human Information Management System (BHIMS) facilitates the systematic collection of biologically relevant data, consolidates bear management information, helps identify management priorities, facilitates the development of science-based bear management plans, helps evaluate the effectiveness of management strategies, helps provide more effective bear safety messages, creates permanent digital copies of original data, establishes bear management institutional memory, and ultimately improves bear conservation and human safety. The BHIMS can be modified for use in other locales and has applicability to bear management across North America.

We present a new paradigm for understanding habituation and the role it plays in brown bear (Ursus arctos) populations and interactions with humans in Alaska. We assert that 3 forms of habituation occur in Alaska: bear-to-bear, bear-to-human, and human-to-bear. We present data that supports our theory that bear density is an important factor influencing a bear's overt reaction distance (ORD); that as bear density increases, overt reaction distance decreases, as does the likelihood of bear–human interactions. We maintain that the effects of bear-to-bear habituation are largely responsible for not only shaping bear aggregations but also for creating the relatively safe environment for bear viewing experienced at areas where there are high densities of brown bears. By promoting a better understanding of the forces that shape bear social interactions within populations and with humans that mingle with them, we can better manage human activities and minimize bear–human conflict.