[45Marlin carbine]

Around 6-8 years back a female (about 160 lbs,)Black w/cub attacked and killed and fed on a small woman (around 95 lbs) in the Great Smoky Mtn. National Park in Eastern Tn.. She was exploring a trail in a well-used section of the park alone, and had no food of any sort w/her. Her male companion saw the attack take place from some distance away and the woman did not en****er the female bear's cub, the bear simply ran up and attacked the woman as a predator would do. The man ran up to the scene (woman already dead) but could not drive the bear away from the corpse. He had to hike about 2 miles to get help, unfortunately too late. When help arrived the bear and cub both were still feeding on the corpse but were driven away this time by multiple men with limbs and stones- etc. They had no firearms. Rangers later tracked and killed the bear and took the cub to a zoo. Examination of the stomach contents of the bear confirmed this was the one responsible for the attack. In this case a handgun would certainly have provided protection, as would have some sprays. Moral of the story - any adult bear can be an attacker, they are quick and very strong.