Human Injuries Inflicted by Bears in British Columbia: 1960–97

There is controversy in British Columbia regarding how dangerous bears are. Grizzly bear (Ursus arctos) population estimates range from 10,000–13,000; black bears (U. americanus), 120,000–160,000. From 1960–97, significantly fewer grizzly bears inflicted about 3 times as many serious injuries (N = 41 versus 14) but the same number of fatal injuries (N = 8) as black bears. The trend in terms of average number of bear-inflicted injuries/year increased each decade from the 1960s through the 1990s, as did the human population in British Columbia. It is likely that more people in bear habitat affected this increase in the number of injuries. In 88% of serious or fatal grizzly bear attacks, those injured were engaged in hunting, hiking, or working, typically in back-country areas. In 77% of black bear attacks, those injured were either hiking, watching the bear, working, or recreating, typically in front-country areas. Eighty-one percent of parties injured by grizzly bears and 69% of parties injured by black bears were composed of 1 or 2 people. Bear access to human food or garbage was associated with a relatively small number of incidents for each species. In grizzly bear incidents where the age and sex class were known, adult females were identified in 79% of incidents. All incidents where the gender of an attacking black bear was known involved males. These incidents were equally divided between adults and subadults. Poor health of the bear was identified in 16% of black bear and 7% of grizzly bear incidents. Sixty-two percent of the serious or fatal grizzly bear incidents, where the bear’s motivation could be inferred, were categorized as involving a bear being startled at close range (<50 m) and 19% involved ungulate carcasses. For black bear incidents, where the bear’s motivation could be inferred, 83% involved possible predation. None involved ungulate carcasses and none involved the bear being startled. Risk of bear attack can be managed through individual responsibility and communication targeted at individuals and groups such as ungulate hunters, hikers and campers, and persons working in bear habitat.