We have quite a few bears here but rarely see them. In the 24 years we've lived on our 25ac we have only had 2 face to face sightings, both times it was a sow with cub the second time 3 cubs. In every encounter the bear(s) were gone before I had a chance to be concerned.
Last fall a hunter in the mountains of Greenville County SC shot a 609# black bear. Where the bear was shot was less than 10 miles from here. That was a record bear for SC. Most big ones around here are 250# to 350#.