Switt, wow that is quite a story. I guess the good thing is that your friend wasn't hurt and that his dogs didn't sustain serious injury. Can't blame the dogs, I know dogs have historically been used to hold off bears (polar and grizzly) alowing humans to escape. I'm surprised the black bear didn't run when the dogs came after him (maybe they were on him before he knew what happened).
I have a friend who works for the pineland commission. She told me last weekend that they are now carrying a bear repellant spray when they work in the field (just in case). I bet ya that if an inncident occurs involving an aggressive bear in south jersey it will happen in a more suburban area than the deep woods. I'm looking forward to a bear population in the pine barrens, however, it is probably unrealistic to hope that they remain in the woods and away from suburbia. The deer surely havn't, but coyote have for the most part. I'm sure there is a correlation with population size.
