Alaska is different. Although most black bears here pretty much behave like U.S. bears, you may meet some distinctly tougher and more aggressive animals. Visitors to Alaska should be much more cautious in dealing with black bears here, especially, they should not attempt to approach them. Some black bears show rather grizzly-like traits, such as defending carcasses. Females with cubs are more likely to attack too. Although rare, there have been some predatory incidents, especially in remote areas. The worst incident happpened in 1963 when the blueberry crop failed. Over the course of a few weeks 5 people were attacked and one man was killed by clearly predacious bears. Others occur from time to time. Hunters who have shot cubs or wounded a bear have been horribly injured too. Nevertheless, for every black bear attack in Alaska, there are at least ten times as many grizzly attacks, despite the fact that there are a lot more black bears than grizzlies. Needless to say, the locals don't worry all that much about black bears; they save their concern for the far more dangerous grizzlies. Canada is the place where black bears are at their most dangerous. Practically every province away from the Atlantic Seaboard reports regular attacks. The level of danger increases as you go north (as long as you stay in forested areas) and as you go west. It also increases as you go into more remote areas. The area with the worst problems is the northern inland sector of British Columbia, especially the area around Ft. St John and Ft Nelson and in areas along the Alaskan Highway. The next most dangerous is Alberta, but it is rather less so. There are roughly equal numbers of incidents here from both black bears and grizzlies; there is usually one serious attack each year and a fatality every few years. Obviously, these black bears are more dangerous than the ones in Alaska, but are no worse than the grizzlies.
