The media and scientific literature are increasingly reporting an escalation of large carnivore attacks on humans, mainly in the so-called developed countries, such as Europe and North America. Although large carnivore populations have generally increased in developed countries, increased numbers are not solely responsible for the observed rise in the number of attacks. Of the eight bear species inhabiting the world, two (i.e. the Andean bear and the giant panda) have never been reported to attack humans, whereas the other six species have: sun bears Helarctos malayanus, sloth bears Melursus ursinus, Asiatic black bears Ursus thibetanus, American black bears Ursus americanus, brown bears Ursus arctos, and polar bears Ursus maritimus. This chapter provides insights into the causes, and as a result the prevention, of bear attacks on people. Prevention and information that can encourage appropriate human behavior when sharing the landscape with bears are of paramount importance to reduce both potentially fatal human–bear encounters and their consequences to bear conservation.

This chapter comprises the following sections: names, taxonomy, subspecies and distribution, descriptive notes, habitat, movements and home range, activity patterns, feeding ecology, reproduction and growth, behavior, parasites and diseases, status in the wild, and status in captivity.

Conflicts between humans and bears have occurred since prehistory. Through time, the catalogue of human–bear conflicts (HBC) has been changing depending on the values and needs of human societies and their interactions with bears. Even today, conflict situations vary among the eight species of bears and geographically across these species’ ranges. This results in a broad range of interactions between bears and humans that may be considered as conflicts, including: (1) predation of domestic or semiwild animals, including bees, hunting dogs, and pet animals; (2) damage due to foraging on cultivated berries, fruits, agricultural products, and the tree bark in forest plantations; (3) economic loss due to destruction of beehives, fences, silos, houses, and other human property; (4) bear attacks on humans causing mild or fatal trauma; (5) bluff charges, bear intrusions into residential areas; and (6) vehicle collisions with bears and traffic accidents. In this chapter we aim to outline the principal types of HBC and geographical differences in the occurrence of conflicts and the coexistence between people and bears.