In this video, I discuss the topic of black bears and address 5 common myths as well as facts about black bears, what you can use as protection, what you should do if you encounter a black bear and what you should never do. This information comes from my experience hiking and backpacking over 2,000 miles in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park and encountering approximately 30 bears. I also did a ton of research which I've cited my sources below.

SOURCES CITED:

National Park Service
https://www.nps.gov/grsm/learn/nature...
https://www.nps.gov/grsm/learn/nature...
https://www.nps.gov/subjects/bears/pa...
https://www.nps.gov/articles/leave-no...

https://appalachianbearrescue.org/

Bear Facts
http://www.bearsmart.com/about-bears/...
https://bear.org/bear-facts/black-bea...
https://bearwithus.org/understanding-...
http://www.bearsmart.com/live/managin...
http://www.bearsmartbc.com/bear-safet...

Bear spray
http://www.bearsmart.com/play/bear-de...

Bear attacks
https://www.nps.gov/articles/bearatta...
https://rollingfox.com/map-fatal-bear...
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of...
https://public.tableau.com/views/Nort...

Car crash stats
https://crashstats.nhtsa.dot.gov/Api/...

Deaths in backcountry
https://www.backpacker.com/survival/a...

Firearms
http://www.bearsmart.com/docs/BearSpr...
https://www.nps.gov/articles/bearspra...

Bear photos and videos:
Some photos courtesy of NPS, Pixabay & Unsplash
Some b-roll videos courtesy of Pexels

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