We just had a student who was hiking get killed by a bear in September. A group of students went into the woods even after exiting hikers warned them about a bear acting aggressively. The students went to take photos. They also had granola bars with them. The bear stalked the student - they panicked and ran. One student got caught - lending insight to the old joke about being sure to bring someone slower than you on hikes in bear country. Blacks bears (the kind we have) are generally shy but people tend to forget they are still bears and not chipmunks or squirrels. There are too many television shows making wild animals out to be merely gentle pets we haven't met yet. If someone warned me about a sketchy bear I wouldn't rush into the woods with a camera and granola. Well maybe if I had a slow person with me lol
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