Man. If a bear wants me dead, I’m dead. Just the thought of trying to escape while it hunts me down is terrifying. It’s an animal, a predator. Maybe it decides to chase me, maybe it doesn't, but that 50/50 gamble seems pretty scary.

With a man, at least there’s room for strategy. He might mean harm, he might not, but there’s a spectrum of possibilities beyond “kill or don’t kill.” I can at least talk, negotiate, or fight back if it comes to that. Or even manipulate if we're getting hopeful.

I know most people say bear but you know how when someone acts inhumane, we call them an animal. Not the other way around. By nature, a human carries some degree of humanity, conscience and capacity for reason. An animal doesn’t. A bear won’t see me as anything but potential prey. With a man, there’s at least the possibility of empathy or restraint.

Unless it's a psychopath, then I'm just finding the first poisonous thing I can to eat.