As the manager of Ohiopyle State Park, John Hallas has run into a few black bears in his day.

In June, he ran into one particular bear way more than he wanted.

The young bear, estimated to weigh around 140 pounds, discovered the dumpsters at the Kentuck Campground in the park and figured out that the eating was good. He kept coming back, and eventually stopped bothering to run when Hallas or the patrol vehicles came around. Not even a couple stinging shots from non-lethal bean bag bullets to the behind were enough to convince the bear to go away and stay away.

The bear was trapped and re-released in a more remote area of the park and hasn't returned since. But even though Pennsylvania is black bear country, cases in which humans see bears in the wild let alone have an encounter are rare.

"Typically, if you're out on the trails, even though we have a good population of bears, if they hear you, then they're moving to get out of your way," Hallas said. "They may be close, but if you're making enough noise, the bear's going to move away from you."

There are an estimated 14,000-15,000 bears statewide, according to the Pennsylvania Game Commission. The chances of seeing one do go up depending on the time of year. In the spring, bears are coming out of their dens and eager to eat. Now is the time of year when bears are bulking up in preparation for entering their dens, and when more humans are going into the woods to see fall foliage.

"Sightings do increase in the fall as the bears are getting ready for winter and taking in as many calories as possible," said Jerry Feaser, of the Game Commission. "It keeps them moving."

But Feaser stressed that most bears want nothing to do with humans, and the best thing to do if you spot one is to give it a wide berth.

"They're more interested in getting away from an encounter with a human than confronting a human," Feaser said.

There are no known records of a black bear killing a human in the state, and in the past 10 years, there have been fewer than 25 reported injuries from a bear.

Will Scarlett has been running the Scarlett Knob Campground just a few miles outside of Ohiopyle for 26 seasons and said he's only had one case of a bear causing trouble in the campground.

"It was Father's Day of 1986, and it was a bear that apparently the Game Commission had dropped off some place because it knew how to get into coolers with latches on them; it knew all about campgrounds," he said.

The Game Commission came back and got the bear, and they haven't had any trouble since.

"I'm sure they come through (the campground), but we try to keep things cleaned up and try to get people to not throw garbage and food and stuff into the woods when they're camping," Scarlett said.

Mel Schake, information and education supervisor for the Game Commission's Southwest Regional office, said they don't have an estimate of how many bears are in the region, but that the population is concentrated along the eastern side, including Indiana, Cambria, Somerset, Fayette and Westmoreland Counties.

"What people need to understand is that they've been a lot closer to bears than they realize if they've spent time in the woods," Schake said. "But a bear will move away from you. They're not looking to interact with us."

Additional Information:

Close encounters?

If you enjoy hiking, biking, camping or otherwise in the outdoors of the Laurel Highlands, you're in black bear country. Sightings are rare, however, and actual encounters even more rare despite a healthy bear population in Pennsylvania. The Game Commission offers the following advice on its Web site ( http://www.pgc.state.pa.us/ ) of what to do if you do see a bear in the wild:

• Don't run. There are two things you will never do better than a bear -- run (they move up to 35 miles per hour) and climb a tree.

• Stay calm. If the bear hasn't seen you, leave the area calmly and talk while moving away in order to help the bear discover your presence.

• If you have a close encounter, back away slowly without making eye contact. Give the bear plenty of room to escape. If you're on a trail, step off on the downhill side and slowly leave the area.

• Pay attention. Bears have a great sense of smell but not particularly good eyesight. Some bears may stand upright or move closer in order to discover what you are. This isn't a sign of aggression. Usually the bear will leave once it discovers you are a human. If a bear wants you to leave, however, it will pop its jaw, and the hair on its shoulders and neck will stand up. Back away slowly. Some bears have been known to bluff charge to within a few feet if you ignore these signs of aggression. If this happens, wave your arms and shout at the bear.

• Bear attacks are extremely rare, but if it happens, fight back.

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