Bear attacks in North American usually happen in the bears wilderness habitat.
They usually involve hunters, hikers, and campers. Brown bears have hurt people in Northern and Western Canada, Alaska, and parts of the Rocky Mountains in the U.S. Black bear attacks usually happen in the Canadian Provinces and several mountainous areas in the U.S.
Wildlife experts say that these attacks are rare and they only attack for territorial, predatory, or protective reasons. Most of these attacks also happened when there were only one or two people in the vicinity.
One of the most recent bear attacks on a human was in August of 2012.
It happened in Alaska and involved a grizzly bear. The man who was attacked was backpacking alone along a river. Hikers found an abandoned backpack and torn clothing so they told the rangers. When they investigated, they found the grizzly sitting on the guy’s remains. The bear was shot and killed by a Trooper.
Another attack happened in July of 2011. This one involved a black bear and lady. It happened in Arizona. The lady was attacked by the black bear while she was walking her pet at a country club. She died about a month later from a massive brain hemorrhage which doctors think was a result of the attack. The animal was located and killed.
As for recovering from these attacks, aside from the wounds and large lacerations that can happen, infections can also happen.
A bear’s mouth can have harmful bacteria in it.
The bites can result in gangrene or crepitus which is the grinding of two side of a broken bone fracture.
Recovery depends on how much damage was done.
So as you can see, these attacks don’t happen every day but it is wise to use precaution when out in the bear’s wilderness or if you have bears in your neighborhood.
Stay safe