How dangerous are black bears? What's the chance of a hunter or hiker encountering a black bear and being attacked? As numbers of these animals grow around the country, what does the public need to know about what to do if they run into one?

Biologist Gary Alt recognizes that black bear populations are booming in many eastern states, and people are encountering bears in areas where they've never been before.

"Bears do kill people. About two people are killed each year by black bears somewhere in North America. There are literally hundreds of thousands of encounters with bears for everyone that leads to a fatality. There are around 90,000 homicides for every person killed by a bear. In general bears are quite safe."

He adds, "Keep your eye on the bear and you can move back safely. Do not play dead with a black bear. A predatory black bear is going to test to see if it can eat you without getting injured. If you play dead, he will continue and kill you."