wow, starts bringing back everything I read in the book Bear attacks, causes and avoidance.

Everything I have read in your post Mat confirms what I have read. That bears are very protective of a kill and will behave much like a dog and can be over protective of their food. Walking up on a kill is just bad luck. Jogging down a trail in Grizzly country (or mountain biking down a trail) is plain dopey salmon season or not.

The city slickers in NJ who were out for a hike and had a blackie follow them..... They may not have been as clueless as you might think. In this case I doubt it was the running that provoked the attack. One of the first signs a black bear is predatory is if he (usually a male and often subadult) starts following. I find it amazing though that the bear was unafraid of 5 people. Obviously for them to break into a run was that the bear was likely more than just curious and exhibited an inclination of being aggressive. The other thing the author was correct on is most fatal black bear attacks are east of the Mississippi. I, for one, don't take them lightly packing spray and wearing a fixed blade. Tough way to check out.........