The local black bear population at Liard is carefully monitored and they are actually pretty nice bears, not much different from their equivalents in U.S. national parks. The bears that have attacked people have been recent arrivals from the deep wilderness that had never seen humans before. If you think about it, if you saw all these defenseless, stupid, unaware, plump, succulent bipeds bumbling around, you would probably think that they were the perfect prey too. The thing that is so SCARY about predacious black bears is that they are so coldly LOGICAL about it, they are not some mindlessly ferocious eating machine like a tiger shark. They resemble those lions in turn of the century Africa that preyed on the railroad workers. (By the way, a fully grown black bear can easily kill a fully grown lion, don't underestimate how powerful these animals really are!)
This is why I recommend such strong precautions if you go into the wilderness in B.C. or adjecent areas (southern Yukon and western Alberta, or along the Alaskan border). Although the great majority of the black bears there are perfectly nice critters, as mellow as any black bear in Yosemite, this is still the best (worst?) place to encounter the fearsome and deadly predacious black bear. B.C. has been averaging half a dozen serious attacks and one fatality a year from these bears for some time now, you don't want to risk contributing to the grim statistics. To have a highly intelligent and skillful hunter silently stalking you out of your sight in the deep forest, quietly observing and evaluating you and waiting for precisely the right moment to strike is a truely chilling thought! I might add that ANYWHERE along that part of the Alaska Highway which winds through northern British Columbia and the southern Yukon is dangerous, and any black bears you see there should be treated with just as much caution as if they were mean grizzlies. If you go traveling up there, be CAREFUL, and make sure to NEVER allow your kids out of your sight. I know of cases where Americans have tried to photograph black bears close up along that road, only to have the bears charge, knock them down, and attempt to drag them off into the woods for dinner. Not all of these bears are like our shy and timid U.S. black bears! Even in the official campgrounds, as the Liard incident shows, you are not necessarily safe. I have heard of problems at other places besides Liard, but, due to the obstructionist policies of the Canadian government, details are virtually impossible to come by. Hopefully somebody reading this will know something and contact me.
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