why do people say to fight back against black bears, play dead against brown, and send prayers if against polar?

Question

As title says.

In: Other

Answer 1

Black bears aren’t as big as you might expect and you can possibly scare them away. Polar bears are the biggest and they are the apex predator of their environment and you cannot scare or beat them, only avoid them. Brown bears I’m less sure of. They’re inbetween but I don’t think the play dead thing is the best idea. Probably better to try to scare them away?

But the best plan is to have bear spray or some other weapon if you’re in an area with bears.