I work in forestry, and walk in the wilderness 5 days a week. I would assume I've had more run-ins with bears and cougars than most on this board.......I'll give you my 2 cents on a few subjects in this thread.
Just a disaclaimer..........I am NOT a bear expert. These are just my opinions. Please don't shoot me if you disagree.
Bear spray: Habby's right. You have to be very close to the bear to have any kind of effectiveness. You also better make sure the wind is going the right way, or may wind up getting the stuff right back in your face. Makes it a little easier for the bear.
Quick story. I know a guy that did some work in northern B.C a few years ago and was attacked by a grizzly. Sprayed his entire canister of spray, nothing happened. The guy he was working with also unloaded his bear spray. Again, nothing happened. And these were the larger canisters, not the smaller ones you can buy at a sporting goods store. The grizz had cubs with her. Long story short, the guy I know actually had his head in the bear's jaws for a second, and suffered pretty nasty head injuries. Scary stuff.
Climbing a tree: I would do it if I had nowhere else to go. At least you have the chance of kicking it in the head. If you're on the ground, the bear has a massive, massive advantage. Also, when you're in those situations, it's a lot different than talking or reading about it. You don't have time to think. If you think climbing a tree will be safer than being on the ground......in that instant, you'll climb the tree. Even if it's not the 'correct' thing to do.
Usually bears will only attack if they have cubs with them, or if they have a kill nearby, or if they are startled. If you make lots of noise, 99% of the time, the bear will leave you alone. In fact, you'll usually never even see it or know it was there. I saw one today.......I was making noises as I walked, he saw me, he took right off. They are usually very non-confrontational. Cougars, on the other hand, are freaky SOBs. You can't hear them, and they'll stalk you. I had one do a semi-circle around me last summer. Very scary. I'm way more freaked out by cougars than bears.
I worked in one area last summer, and saw the same bear every day one week. He was pretty small, but big enough to be on his own. We saw each other, I was making noises, he left me alone. After a few days, he really could care less that I was there. We just kept our distance from each other.
On the Friday, I sat down to have a drink of water. I was looking down for a few minutes, sweating like crazy. I looked up, he was walking about 30 meters away from me. He never saw me at all. I stood up, put my cruiser's vest on and yelled. Of course, I startled him. He took about 5-6 steps towards me, and got up on his hind legs. I went to grab a rock to throw at him, and he took off.
Moral of story............make noise. I'm sure if he knew I was there, he would have steered clear as usual.
To end off.............I agree with those here that do NOT balme the bear. Whether it be me at work, or a hiker, or anyone else in the wilderness, we are trepassing into THEIR territory, they are not coming into ours (except for some garbage bears, but that's a whole other story).
If a bear or cougar attacked me because they were hungry or they were defending their territory, I could not blame them one iota.
I would do the same thing if I was them.
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