I found a story involving bad advice on John C. Dvorak’s blog. Apparently Aspen, Colorado has a bear problem. The bears are moving in and feeding off of the trash of the local human population. Of course this means they are getting used to humans which is what the local officials don’t want. Here is their advice:
They are now actively telling residents to be, literally, mean to the bears. Yell at them, throw rocks and if they charge you, stand up to them. “You want to be as big, as large as possible, and you always want to fight back with a black bear,” said Hampton. Black bears tend to be timid and are generally not aggressive.
Yeah that’s right piss off a bear. Sure black bears will normally run but I certainly don’t want to be on the business end of those claws and teeth should they decide to call my bluff. If I’m going to stand my ground against a bear of any sort I will do it holding a gun in my hand. So if it’s OK to shoot the bear I’ll stand up to it, otherwise my route of action will involve going inside and placing a call to the local animal control center.
Advising people to throw rocks at a charging bear is idiotic and irresponsible. Chances are if it’s charging you it’s pissed off enough where getting pelted by rocks isn’t going to ward it off.