<P> Native American tribes sympatric with brown bears often view them with a mixture of awe and fear . North American brown bears have at times been so feared by the natives, that they were rarely hunted, especially alone . At traditional grizzly hunts in some western tribes such as the Gwich'in the expedition was conducted with the same preparation and ceremoniality as intertribal warfare, and was never done except with a company of 4--10 warriors . The tribe members who dealt the killing blow were highly esteemed among their compatriots . Californian natives actively avoided prime bear habitat, and would not allow their young men to hunt alone, for fear of bear attacks . During the Spanish colonial period, some tribes, instead of hunting grizzlies themselves, would seek aid from European colonists to deal with problem bears . Many authors in the American west wrote of natives or voyageurs with lacerated faces and missing noses or eyes due to attacks from grizzlies . </P> <P> Many Native American tribes both respect and fear the brown bear . In Kwakiutl mythology, black and brown bears became enemies when Grizzly Bear Woman killed Black Bear Woman for being lazy . Black Bear Woman's children, in turn, killed Grizzly Bear Woman's own cubs . Sleeping Bear Dunes is named after a Native American legend, where a female bear and her cub swam across Lake Michigan . Exhausted from their journey, the bears rested on the shoreline and fell sound asleep . Over the years, the sand covered them up, creating a huge sand dune . </P> <P> There are an average of two fatal attacks by bears per year in North America . In Scandinavia, there are only four known cases since 1902 of bear encounters which have resulted in death . The two most common causes for bear attack are surprise and curiosity . Some types of bears, such as polar bears, are more likely to attack humans when searching for food, while American black bears are much less likely to attack . Despite their boldness and potential for predation if the bear is hungry, polar bears rarely attack humans because they are infrequently encountered in the Arctic sea . </P> <P> The Alaska Science Center ranks the following as the most likely reasons for bear attacks: </P>

What is the average size of a brown bear