But the bears are so cuddly and cute!
The adult children in this state won't face reality until some jogger or hiker ends up as bear chow. And even then, unless it happens within a 5-file radius of their home or to one of their facebook friends, they'll ignore the problem as "something that only happens to others".
I am not paranoid about black bears. I've encountered them 100 times myself and know that black bears are generally very timid about human encounters. But as their numbers grow and they push into more populated areas, sooner or later they're going to lose their fear of people, and the shear number of bear/human encounters will mean that someone's going to accidentally end up in a bear's face, or between a momma bear and her cubs.
Hunting pressure is needed to keep the bear population down, keep them wary of humans, and keep them away from densely populated areas.
Maryland bear hunters are only delaying the full state expansion of the bear population in Maryland. And I'd like to see bears in every county of our state.
Bears can reduce overpopulated deer herds, especially where hunting is not allowed. And I love the chance of getting another Maryland bear permit. Someone just bagged a 559 pound bruin in Allegany County, Maryland