Eric,
You don’t know anything about Black Bears do you? Black Bears RARELY if EVER defend their cubs. They general will signal the little ones to climb a tree if danger is abound. The mother then general retreats if she has cubs with her. Not the case however with other breeds of bears. Read the book, “Understanding Michigan Black Bears by Richard P. Smith” Michigan’s foremost expert on Black bears and some other animals too. By the way… the last person killed by a Black Bear in Michigan was in 1946… so make sure you sell your car… and don’t touch an electrical switch either. Incidentally, I had a mother and cub on my back porch last spring and they watched me as I was watching them… all of us seemed unconcerned and more curious than anything else… then they tipped my corn can over and ran off.