There is a widespread misconception that bears that don't fear people are more likely to attack.  This is NOT true and it makes people worry about bears that don't readily run away.  

But the record shows those bears are no more likely to attack than any other bear, and attacks by any bear are extremely rare.

Lets look at the record, starting here at the Bear Center.

1. The captive bears at the Bear Center were raised by people and have no fear.  Judge for yourself whether they have any notion of attacking their keepers.  You can watch the Bear Center bears on the NABC live webcam.

Ruth LaBarge has owned and trained bears for the entertainment industry for over thirty years.  She has the largest selection of working Kodiak bears and black bears in North America.  They are seen in many feature films, TV programs, and commercials.  Her animal actors also appear in TV nature programs like Wild America, Nature, and National Geographic's "Grizzly."  

The video demonstrates the trained behaviors of 5 of her bears.  Some of the bears were trained for years to perform specific behaviors for upcoming movie scripts.  One such behavior is opening the mouth to look ferocious.  That behavior has been used for many movies, book covers, and magazine covers.

(see video below)

Bears are part of human culture.  Perhaps no other group of animals has excited the human imagination in so many ways.  Although none of the popular images of bears reflect their true nature, they are referenced in mythology, folk songs, and children's stories.  Bear cartoons, stories, and paraphernalia have mushroomed in the last century.