This is a list of human deaths caused by bear attacks in North America by decade in reverse chronological order. These fatalities have been documented through news media, reports, cause-of-death statistics, scientific papers, or other sources. For general information on the topic, see bear attack.
Fatal bear attacks in North America have occurred in a variety of settings. There have been several in wilderness habitats of bears involving hikers, hunters, and campers. Brown bear (including the subspecies grizzly bear) incidents have occurred in its native range spanning Alaska, Northern Canada, and Western Canada, and portions of the Rocky Mountains in the United States. The locations of black bear wilderness fatal attacks reflect its wider range.
Bears held captive by animal trainers, in zoos or carnivals, 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.[1][2][3] Attacks are for predatory, territorial, or protective reasons.[4] Most wilderness attacks have occurred when there were only one or two people in the vicinity.[5][6]
In this list, three species of bears are recognized: the black bear (Ursus americanus), the brown bear (Ursus arctos), and the polar bear (Ursus maritimus).
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American black bear in Labrador, Canada -
Grizzly bear in Denali National Park, Alaska -
Polar bear in Churchill, Canada
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- ^ Fraser, Caroline (March 2001). "You Are in Bear Country". Outside Magazine Online. Retrieved June 25, 2010.
- ^ Celizic, Mike. "New TV show is unfair to bears, some experts growl". MSNBC.com. Archived from the original on January 21, 2009. Retrieved January 6, 2011.
- ^ "Bear Kills Woman and Her Son in Alaska". New York Times. July 4, 1995. Retrieved July 8, 2010.
- ^ Klinkenberg, Jeff (August 2, 1978). "This grizzly study was close up". St. Petersburg Times. Retrieved January 6, 2011.
- ^ Herrero, Stephen (2002). Bear Attacks: Their Causes and Avoidance. Globe Pequo. p. 5. ISBN 978-1-58574-557-9.
- ^ Herrero, Stephen (April 2011). "Fatal attacks by American black bear on people: 1900–2009". Journal of Wildlife Management. 75 (3): 596–603. Bibcode:2011JWMan..75..596H. doi:10.1002/jwmg.72. S2CID 55078800.