Winnie the Pooh, Smoky the Bear and stuffed teddy bears conjure up the idea that bears are trustworthy, lovable and cuddly. But if you come across one, don't count on it.

"It's not a good idea to interact with a black bear," said Pennsylvania Game Commission press secretary Jerry Feaser. "It certainly isn't advised."

As the bear population is expected to increase in Washington and Greene counties over the next several years, game commission officers offer ways to avoid conflict and better understand Ursus americanus, the North American black bear.

Although there's no record of a black bear killing anyone in Pennsylvania, there have been about 52 recorded deaths by black bears in North America from 1900 to 2003, and about 13 since 2000, including a woman killed by a black bear at a ski resort in Calgary, British Columbia, on July 21.

Most of the attacks have been in Canada, which has a much higher black bear population than the United States, although others were reported in Utah in June and Tennessee last year. The majority have been predatory attacks, in which bears were viewing humans as a food source.

British Columbia is home to about 25 percent of all black bears in Canada, and about half of all grizzly bears. Although the number of attacks may seem startling, local statistics have helped to put it in perspective.

A study commissioned by the British Columbia Ministry of Health of animal-caused deaths from 1969 to 1997 showed 19 people died as a result of an encounter with a black or grizzly bear, along with 19 from moose, 16 from bee stings, and more than twice as many, 47, from incidents involving horses.

Pennsylvania reports few injuries from black bears, less than 15 in the past 10 years, according to Mr. Feaser. Most involve accidental injuries, such as swats by startled bears, or injuries resulting from dog owners interfering in dog/bear scuffles, which are common.

Pennsylvania black bears are more timid than their northern and western cousins because food is abundant in this area, Mr. Feaser said, and because early settlers and residents made it a habit to kill aggressive bears, eliminating them from the gene pool.

Black bears, the only bears found in Pennsylvania, are more frequently spotted this time of year as yearlings are rejected by their mothers, who are entering the mating season. Black bears are usually black with brown muzzles and sometimes a white patch on the chest, but can be brown or even blond.

They shouldn't be confused with brown bears, like grizzlies and Kodiak bears, which only live in Canada, Alaska, and the Northwestern U.S.

Bears mate every two years, producing litters of one to five cubs in December or January. The cubs stay with their mothers until they are about 17 months old, when the mating season begins in May and June.

As they leave their home area, yearlings, especially males, may travel long distances to relocate.

That's when unexpected encounters, such as one July 24 in South Franklin, usually occur, Mr. Feaser said.

"They are inadvertently hitting populated areas," he said.

After a series of local sightings, an adolescent male bear was chased into a field near Interstate 70, treed and tranquilized before being released into a forested area between Somerset and Fayette counties.

The bear may have been seen eating from garbage, Game Commission Wildlife Conservation Officer Richard Joyce said, making it all the more important to quickly capture and relocate it.

Once a bear becomes acclimated to people, it becomes more difficult to return it to the wild. Garbage cans and dumpsters make easy meals, but as the bear begins to associate humans with food, it also becomes more dangerous, and some bears are destroyed for that reason.

Mr. Feaser points to an oft-used saying among game commission staff: "A fed bear is a dead bear."

To keep bears from roaming residential areas, the game commission has several recommendations, including keeping pet food indoors, refraining from putting food waste into compost piles, keeping grills clean, and removing bird feeders during the summer months.

"You really don't need to feed birds in the summer months," Mr. Feaser said.

Along with the pet food, it's often advisable to keep pets indoors during this time of year, Mr. Feaser said, because although cats outrun bears, dogs can end up fighting them and losing.

Classified as omnivores, bears see in color, find food by scent, and will eat pretty much anything on the ground, he said.

Some of their favorites in this area are carrion, vegetation, insect eggs and larvae, fish and small mammals. In the spring they will kill fawns, and they've also been known to take small livestock, such as chickens and sheep.

They can be pests, eating crops such as corn, along with berries and nuts.

If you encounter a bear, the advice is the same from most experts. Don't approach the bear or try to touch it. Bears view petting as offensive contact. Back away slowly, don't turn and run, and don't climb a tree.

"They can outrun you and out-climb you," Mr. Feaser said.

If you turn your back on a bear, it may kick in the animal's predatory instincts and you could be viewed as lunch.

Face the bear, but avoid direct eye contact, he said. Make your presence known. Make noise, talk, sing or carry a whistle. Some of the most dangerous encounters happen when a bear is startled.

Don't block the bear's exit route, and don't take a path that could intersect later with the bear.

"You want to give these animals a wide berth so they can get away from you," he said.

If a bear comes into your yard, Mr. Feaser said go to a second-floor window and shout loudly or bang on pots and pans to frighten it away.

Black bears are non-confrontational, Mr. Feaser said.

"Pennsylvania's black bears are very timid," he said. "They would rather get out of the area and run than attack a human."

Wildlife Conservation Officer Dan Sitler said bears will slowly start to filter into Washington County over the next several years, as the population in places like West Virginia and Fayette County begins to trickle over.

"It's just a natural migration this way," he said.

Mr. Joyce said he's had recent reports of bear sightings in Roscoe, Claysville and North Franklin. He believes remote parts of Washington County already serve as home to black bears.

"I believe we have a very small resident population," he said.

The bear population in Pennsylvania is at its highest level ever, estimated at about 15,000 bears, Mr. Feaser said.

By contrast, the population in the early 1980s hovered around 4,400. Today, the estimated population in North America is about 750,000.

Over-timbering, mining, and clear cutting, along with too much unregulated hunting and trapping, led to a serious wildlife crisis in Pennsylvania, Mr. Feaser said.

"Bear and all wildlife in Pennsylvania were pushed to near extinction," he said.

The local population has since stabilized, and to keep it that way, the game commission allows a three-day bear hunting season and two-day archery season every year, along with extended hunting in targeted areas with larger bear populations.

To sustain the current population, the goal is about a 20 percent harvest rate. In 2005, 4,164 bears were harvested, and last year, the harvest was closer to the target rate at 3,122. Both years set record high harvest rates.

As bears make their way into remote parts of Greene and Washington counties, Mr. Sitler said, he's fielded few reports or complaints.

"We haven't had a lot of calls, which is a good thing," he said. "Some of these areas can hide a bear for a long time without people seeing them."