You know, there's a lot of information out there - some of it is valuable and some of it is chuckleable. (New word?) It all depends on what one has been told and some horror stories and urban legends that people peat and repeat until finally no one knows where it began...

In Juneau, Alaska, we have LOTS of black bears. In the forests, on the trails, in the streams and downtown on our streets and sidewalks, in our backyards and even on occasion in our homes. There have been several 'false' charges reported but there is NO report of actual attack on human beings. If you are where the bear expects to find you, there is very little alarm on either side. It is NOT a good idea to surprise a bear. And do NOT try to outrun a bear- you can't do it and you MAY trigger his chase instinct.

The prime thing to keep in mind is that the bear's job is to fatten up for the coming winter so if the bear does not identify you with food he will in all likelihood not be interested in you. And keeping him from salivating when he sees you and your backpack is what we all aim to do.

On the other hand, if you catch a salmon and a bear decides the hooked fish is HIS, by golly, it IS his. The law of the land.

There are certain laws and ordinances that we run afoul of at risk of our pocketbook and certain dicta we are encouraged to follow.

For instance:

* In spring and sumner we are advised to remove all bird feeders, even from second story decks and stairs. Bears love the fat content of seed and will follow their noses right to the feeder. We CAN put out the feeders in the winter.

* The same thing is true of hummingbird feeders. They advise us to forgo their use. Bears have a sweet tooth.

* Residences must have "bear- resistant", not "bear-proof" garbage containers. (The city has bear-PROOF conatainers that cost $500. each) Over the top of the can we are to hook on bungee cords just to further dissuade Brother Bruin. My garbage can is a Rubbermaid with handles that flip up and one bear - probably young- chewed on that lid until it is peppered with holes, but he never got into it. Bears are smart and are perfectly capable of knocking a can over and jumping up and down on it until the lid pops.

* On garbage pickup day, we are not allowed to put out our garbage cans until 4:00 AM. We are subject to hefty fines (As much as $150. in aggravated cases) if a can is found outside and unsecured otherwise.

* A friend of mine has fruit trees and berries all over his place. Porcupines are his main problem. They live-trap the porkies and haul them 20 miles away.

Some stories:

**A neighbor of mine was sunning herself in her backyard when a bear wandered in through the gate. Her kitten - Oreo- was so outraged at this overgrown chunk of fur she jumped onto the bear's hindquarters squawling away at the top of her lungs and raking the bear's rump with all four feet. The bear ran.

** On Starr Hill about five blocks from here a young man was napping on his couch in the afternoon in his ground floor efficiency apartment - having left his door wide open - when he woke to find a bear rummaging in his kitchen area. Equally surprised, the bear left the premises and so did the young man.

** Last summer a shirtless Swedish Foreign Exchange student was half asleep in the sun on a lawn chair. When he felt the host's dog nuzzle his chest he brushed it away, only to open his eyes in time to see a retreating bear. The bear had licked his bare chest.

We all have black bear stories.

** One More:

Official advice when you are down and being attacked by a bear - whether brown (grizzly) or black was to clasp your hands at the back of your neck and curl into a fetal position. Do not resist, they said. When the bear thinks you are dead or immobilized he will no longer feel threatened by you and will lose interest in you.

That was then. NOW, in regard to black bear attacks, the advice is different. They have discovered that SOME black bears when they have you down and helpless may decide they are hungry and start to feed on you. The advice today: When you are confronted/attacked/threatened by a BLACK bear, make yourself as BIG as you can, make as much noise as you can, and if he knocks you down keep fighting as long as you can.

These are Alaskan bears. I know that Virginia and Maryland and Pennsylvania have lots of them too. Bears in different parts of the country and the world may have different genes and different cultures.

Like horses. My father was a horse trainer in Oregon. When the family moved to Virginia (Ginny, Bobert) and continued his work with horses he wss struck by how different the horses were. Eastern horses seemed to have had the wild bred out of them.