[RWebb]

It's good that the flash scared them - you don't want them to think of your house as a food source. Be sure not to leave any dog or cat food outside or anything else they might want to eat. Keep doors closed.

Black bears are not real aggressive (black bears can be brown in color - see the NY post above). They are omnivores and eat a lot of ant nests, grubs, etc. You definitely do not want to be caught in between a sow and her cubs. Dogs and bears will go at it even if neither has never seen a dog or a bear before. There is an instinctual reaction to the smell. Don't let your dog stay out at night in the yard or in a pen.

Grizzlies - aka Brown Bears - can be extremely aggressive - esp. "teenagers" and will kill and eat humans once in a while. Usually, they just maul the human - something that would just "teach a little lesson" to another bear - however, humans are not -- shall we say -- as sturdily built as bears and the little love slaps and controlled bites usually kill a human. When I taught Mammalogy classes, I used to hold up a bear skull and then hold up a Sherman tank model -- same design criteria.

Bear - human encounters often end in death for the bear. They are best encouraged to stay in the woods.