LOL MMario, I was going to ask how long until his socks dried out....

Yes they can swim just fine. We used to have one that would swim in the lake just down the hill from the cabin. You could get a cuppa in the pre-dawn, and go sit on the deck and watch him swim. Named him 'Bob' for obvious reasons. Must have been Junior all grown up, for I've never seen a bear enjoy the water that much.

The only time I think I was ever actually 'scared' was in a national park. I was doing my 'lizard on a hot rock' impersonation and snoozing on a boulder. I didn't see the bear, but I heard it...that chuffing noise will wake you up faster than ice down your shorts. The grizz was roughly the same size as the rock I was sitting on, and when he walked past (close-I could have touched him), he just looked at me out of the corner of his eye, and just kept going like I wasn't worth the trouble. I'd have gotten off the boulder and gone back to camp sooner, but I couldn't walk...*bg*

~Jen