List of fatal bear attacks in North America on:
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Fatal
File:Bear yellowstone garbage cropped.jpg, A black bear searching garbage pails in
Fatal bear attack
A bear attack is an attack by a bear on another animal, although it usually refers to a bear attacking a human or domestic pet such as a dog. Bear attacks are of particular concern for those who are in bear habitats. They can be fatal and often hi ...
s in North America have occurred in a variety of settings. There have been several in the bears' wilderness
Wilderness or wildlands (usually in the plural), are natural environments on Earth that have not been significantly modified by human activity or any nonurbanized land not under extensive agricultural cultivation. The term has traditionally re ...
habitat
In ecology, the term habitat summarises the array of resources, physical and biotic factors that are present in an area, such as to support the survival and reproduction of a particular species. A species habitat can be seen as the physical ...
s involving hikers, hunters, and campers. Brown bear
The brown bear (''Ursus arctos'') is a large bear species found across Eurasia and North America. In North America, the populations of brown bears are called grizzly bears, while the subspecies that inhabits the Kodiak Islands of Alaska is kno ...
(Ursus arctos), (a subspecies of which are known as grizzly bears, Ursus arctos horribilis) incidents have occurred in their native range spanning Alaska
Alaska ( ; russian: Аляска, Alyaska; ale, Alax̂sxax̂; ; ems, Alas'kaaq; Yup'ik: ''Alaskaq''; tli, Anáaski) is a state located in the Western United States on the northwest extremity of North America. A semi-exclave of the U.S., ...
, Northern and Western Canada
Western Canada, also referred to as the Western provinces, Canadian West or the Western provinces of Canada, and commonly known within Canada as the West, is a Canadian region that includes the four western provinces just north of the Canada ...
, and portions of the Rocky Mountains
The Rocky Mountains, also known as the Rockies, are a major mountain range and the largest mountain system in North America. The Rocky Mountains stretch in straight-line distance from the northernmost part of western Canada, to New Mexico in ...
in the United States. The locations of black bear
Black bear or Blackbear may refer to:
Animals
* American black bear (''Ursus americanus''), a North American bear species
* Asian black bear (''Ursus thibetanus''), an Asian bear species
Music
* Black Bear (band), a Canadian First Nations group ...
wilderness fatal attacks reflect their wider range.
Bears held captive
Captive or Captives may refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media Films
* ''Captive'' (1980 film), a sci-fi film, starring Cameron Mitchell and David Ladd
* ''Captive'' (1986 film), a British-French film starring Oliver Reed
* ''Captive'' (1991 ...
by animal trainers
Animals are multicellular, eukaryotic organisms in the biological kingdom Animalia. With few exceptions, animals consume organic material, breathe oxygen, are able to move, can reproduce sexually, and go through an ontogenetic stage in ...
, in zoos
A zoo (short for zoological garden; also called an animal park or menagerie) is a facility in which animals are kept within enclosures for public exhibition and often bred for conservation purposes.
The term ''zoological garden'' refers to zool ...
, carnivals
Carnival is a Catholic Christian festive season that occurs before the liturgical season of Lent. The main events typically occur during February or early March, during the period historically known as Shrovetide (or Pre-Lent). Carnival typi ...
, or kept as pets have been responsible for several attacks. There have also been unusual cases in which a person entered a bear's cage and was then mauled.
Bear attacks are rare in North America. Attacks are for predatory
Predation is a biological interaction where one organism, the predator, kills and eats another organism, its prey. It is one of a family of common feeding behaviours that includes parasitism and micropredation (which usually do not kill th ...
, territorial
A territory is an area of land, sea, or space, particularly belonging or connected to a country, person, or animal.
In international politics, a territory is usually either the total area from which a state may extract power resources or a ...
, or protective reasons. Most wilderness attacks have occurred when there were only one or two people in the vicinity.
In this list, three species of bear
Bears are carnivoran mammals of the family Ursidae. They are classified as caniforms, or doglike carnivorans. Although only eight species of bears are extant, they are widespread, appearing in a wide variety of habitats throughout the Nor ...
are recognized: the brown bear
The brown bear (''Ursus arctos'') is a large bear species found across Eurasia and North America. In North America, the populations of brown bears are called grizzly bears, while the subspecies that inhabits the Kodiak Islands of Alaska is kno ...
(''Ursus arctos'', a subspecies of which is commonly known as the grizzly bear
The grizzly bear (''Ursus arctos horribilis''), also known as the North American brown bear or simply grizzly, is a population or subspecies of the brown bear inhabiting North America.
In addition to the mainland grizzly (''Ursus arctos horri ...
), the black bear
Black bear or Blackbear may refer to:
Animals
* American black bear (''Ursus americanus''), a North American bear species
* Asian black bear (''Ursus thibetanus''), an Asian bear species
Music
* Black Bear (band), a Canadian First Nations group ...
(''Ursus americanus''), and the polar bear
The polar bear (''Ursus maritimus'') is a hypercarnivorous bear whose native range lies largely within the Arctic Circle, encompassing the Arctic Ocean, its surrounding seas and surrounding land masses. It is the largest extant bear specie ...
(''Ursus maritimus'').
2020s
Black bear
Brown bear
2010s
Black bear
Brown bear
Polar bear
2000s
Black bear
Brown bear
1990s
Black bear
Brown bear
Polar bear
1980s
Black bear
Brown bear
Polar bear
1970s
Black bear
Brown bear
Polar bear
1960s
Black bear
Brown bear
Polar bear
1950s
Black bear
Brown bear
1940s
Black bear
Yellowstone National Park
Yellowstone National Park is an American national park located in the western United States, largely in the northwest corner of Wyoming and extending into Montana and Idaho. It was established by the 42nd U.S. Congress with the Yellowston ...
, circa 1905. Bear attacks on humans led to changes in park's garbage management procedures.
File:WrestingWithaBear.jpg, A man wrestling with a trained bear. There have been instances of bears killing their trainers.
Brown bear
1930s
Black bear
Brown bear
1920s
Black bear
Brown bear
1910s
Brown bear
1900s
Black bear
1890s
Brown bear
1880s
Black bear
Brown bear
1870s
Brown bear
1860s
Brown bear
1850s
Brown bear
1830s
Brown bear
1780s
Black bear
Maps
See also
* Bear attacks *Bear danger
Bear danger is the risk encountered by humans and their pets or livestock when interacting with bears.
Although most bears are apex predators in their own habitat, most do not, under normal circumstances, hunt and feed on humans. Most bear attack ...
*Binky (polar bear)
Binky (1975 – July 20, 1995) was a polar bear who lived at the Alaska Zoo in Anchorage. He was originally orphaned near Cape Beaufort, close to the Chukchi Sea in the Alaska North Slope, and was found in Northwest Alaska by David Bergsrud. Alas ...
*Stephen Herrero
Stephen Herrero is a Canadian professor emeritus of ecology at the University of Calgary. He is the author of ''Bear Attacks: Their Causes and Avoidance'', which has been described as "authoritative" and "required reading" on the topic.
Herrero w ...
Species:
* List of fatal cougar attacks in North America
This is a list of known or suspected fatal cougar attacks that occurred in North America by decade in chronological order. The cougar is also commonly known as mountain lion, puma, mountain cat, catamount, or panther. The sub-population in Florida ...
* List of fatal alligator attacks in the United States
This is a list of fatal alligator attacks in the United States in reverse chronological order by decade. All occurred in the Southeast, where alligators are endemic to wetlands and tidal marshes. The state of Florida, where most attacks and deaths ...
* Coyote attacks on humans
Coyote attacks are events where coyotes attack humans. While uncommon and rarely cause serious injuries, they have been increasing in frequency, especially in the state of California. Although media reports of such attacks generally identify the a ...
* List of wolf attacks in North America
There have been few documented and undocumented wolf attacks on humans in North America in comparison to wolf attacks in Eurasia, and few relative to attacks by other larger carnivores.
Fatal attacks
Below is an amalgamated list of verified, que ...
* Fatal dog attacks in the United States
Fatal dog attacks in the United States cause the deaths of about 30-50 people in the US each year, and the number of deaths from dog attacks appears to be increasing. Around 4.5 million Americans are bitten by dogs every year, resulting in the ...
References
{{reflist, 3Bears
Bears are carnivoran mammals of the family Ursidae. They are classified as caniforms, or doglike carnivorans. Although only eight species of bears are extant, they are widespread, appearing in a wide variety of habitats throughout the Nor ...
*
Lists of deaths due to animal attacks in the United States
bear
Bears are carnivoran mammals of the family Ursidae. They are classified as caniforms, or doglike carnivorans. Although only eight species of bears are extant, they are widespread, appearing in a wide variety of habitats throughout the Nor ...