[Bring_Back_Shantz]

Originally Posted by troutman

https://wilderness-society.org/brown-bear-in-europe/



Google AI

The European brown bear population declined primarily due to habitat loss and hunting, though climate change may have also played a role. Specifically, human development and agricultural expansion destroyed bear habitats, and hunting, including sport hunting and persecution due to perceived threats to livestock, further reduced bear numbers.

Worth noting, that nowhere in that list is "Killed in self defense by frightened hikers"
So shooting a bear in the face while hiking, is not, for the most part, how humans have dealt with bears for hundreds of years, as Sliver suggested.