Yes ! There are two types of defensive attacks . One is personal spacefood . In that case the bear either type will defend its area . It will pop its jaw , swipe at the ground and huff before charging . In that event walk backwards slowly , speak in a calm voice . If attacked and you ' re on the ground continue moving in the direction you came . The other is surprise attack A . If you are surprise attacked then it is likely that either a you have threatened a mother grizzly ' s cubs or b and much less likely you are being eaten . In the event of a surprise attack it is important to play dead until the bear leaves . If it continues mauling or begins eating you then you get up and fight back , but be sure to give it the opportunity to view you as dead first . Black bear sows can tree their cubs so you are less likely to sustain an attack of that nature from one . So , back to your question when you are attacked by a grizzly you are typically being mauled because you were a threat to her cubs play dead . When you are attacked by a black bear it is typically because you got too close to their bodyfood . In that case defend yourself while moving away . And to finish , bears are beautiful animals , and obviously incredibly smart . They are adept with their paws and it ' s a pleasure to watch them fish and eat berries . Black bears can be stupidly annoying in town and where I live they have taken the place of raccoons in the nuisance category . They are absolutely my favourite animal in the area to watch , probably because they are so recognizable . The bears have begun hibernating now . During their waking months I typically come across one , or a group , every week with physically close encounters monthly . I live in a small town in bear country so they are just a part of the local fabric . I have only been charged and stalked once when I practically walked into one it ran away . Instead of leaving the area I came upon a different one who was already concerned enough to stand . He charged me until I left his space , then followed me out of the area from across the river . No harm , just a bad berry crop . My partner ' s only negative encounter happened when he realized the grizzly he was stalking was also stalking him . Though it was likely the boar had picked up on his activity in its territoryfollowing him and decided to check this douche out . Literally no harm or interaction , but he felt humbled enough to leave and spare the bear . how to tell them a p a r t n p m tnoursbearsgenerauxbasics . aspx