Much less amusing to the folks as have to deal with them, though.
Bells are a poor bet. Bears are only intimidated by noises they are not familiar with. Since most hikers carry bells, bears are usually not deterred by them. One of the best things to carry is one of those personal alarms that emits a piercing shriek when the lanyard is pulled. I knew a guide who carried one; she said every bear she pulled it on, including grizzlies, took off on a high lope. Cheap and effective.
Username/post combo FTW. 
About a month ago, my mother saw a black bear in her backyard in suburban south central Connecticut. This is an area in which the homes are on one-acre lots with lawns and some woods (so that about a quarter of the property is wooded). My point is that the bear would have to have crossed roads and cut through lawns to get to where she lives. Later that day I found an article on the local Patch site that someone on the street behind their house also saw a black bear (probably the same one).
I think the reason for the bells (well, at least my reason) is to alert them to my presence and give them a chance to vamoose before I get closer.
I actually used to carry a personal alarm till the battery died. Depending on where I’m going, I carry a bear banger/flare, bear spray, a knife and wear a loud bell. Today I wore the bell but I don’t think it was necessary as I was sure to make as much noise as a rampaging elephant 
It was a bit spooky out there today, every twig snapping was a bear, every bird or squirrel in a tree was a bear…
I have a breezeway on the second story which connects the main house with a “mother-in-law” apartment. It overlooks a paved parking area.
Walking across one day, I see in peripheral vision an old black VW bug parked there. I take several steps before remembering that I don’t know anyone who drives an old black VW,
nor was I expecting any visitors.
When I stop to take a closer look, the “VW” looks up at me, gives a sort of “whuff” and wanders off.
The purpose of a bell is not to intimidate a bear. It’s to let the bear hear that somebody is coming. Bears don’t want confrontation any more than you do, but many attacks occur when a bear is surprised by a human. It’s especially important when there are cubs around. Black bears are usually quite timid, but surprising a mother with cubs can be dangerous.
As for pepper spray, it’s a dubious tool, in my opinion. There is evidence that it is sometimes effective when used correctly. But correct use involves waiting for a bear to come fairly close before discharging the spray. Faced with a charging grizzly, what proportion of people are likely to use it correctly? It’s almost guaranteed that anyone who is not highly trained and experienced will discharge the spray far too early, leaving a diffuse mist of pepper that’s as likely to blow back into the hiker’s face as deter the bear.
Of course, if faced with a charging bear, you’d rather have spray with you than not. But the important question is whether carrying bear spray influences the probability of having an encounter in the first place. The false sense of security from bear spray may lead to risk compensatory behaviors, such as making people feel that it’s safe enough to hike alone.
In grizzly territory, by far the best safety strategy is to travel in a group. Grizzly attacks on groups of 4 or more people are almost unheard of.
You mean like a dinner bell?
You realize that it’s extremely rare for bears (polar bears excepted) to prey on humans, right? No safety strategy is premised on hiding from a predator. You want them to know that you’re there, so that they are not surprised and forced in to a quick fight-or-flight decision.
Years ago I thought that would make a great farside comic but nobody else agreed with me. Something like a hiker with a bear bell and the momma bear calling out “dinner!” to the kids
Anecdotal evidence, I know, and not in the U. S.:
I was watching an episode of Man vs. Wild which was filmed in Romania. Host Bear Grylls mentioned an attack the previous week in his location by a brown bear on a group of seven people who were picking mushrooms. Not only were they all severely mauled, the bear even attacked a group of emergency rescuers who came to the aid of the victims.
I said almost unheard of, not completely unheard of. There was also a group of seven NOLS students attacked in Alaska in 2011. But the incident was remarkable because it was so unusual. Statistics do show that hiking in a large group is the most reliable safety strategy in grizzly country.
Bear encounter scene from the movie Shoot to Kill.
“Maybe we can throw it some food?”
“We ARE the food!”
Yeah, I’m from Alaska and have more than a nodding acquaintance with our bruinous friends.
Local gunshop guy* I know hunts carabou in Alaska. He and his buddy had bagged one cow each, and called for pickup - The plane was flying in the next moring. They’d dressed their kills, but there was no place to cache them (tundra, you know). That night, a sow brownbear invaded their camp (mind you, it was the time of year where there was basically three hours of twilight, counting as ‘night’), stolen my friend’s kill, dragged it some three hundred fifty yards, and eaten 3/4 of the kill - all without anyone noticing until the plane was on it’s way. The bear was still present - it moved off another hundred yards when they went to investigate. My friend salvaged the head, neck, and one shoulder.
Oh, and the offal pit they’d dug 500 yards away? It was empty, too.
Evidence caught on video (not the theft, obviously) - including waddling bear and stripped carcass (even bones had been consumed).
Big bears can be shockingly stealthy - and have AMAZING appetites.
*NOT the guy as had to defend himself from an Alaskan Brown with the Big Fucking Pistol.
Would the small bells contained in the grizzly scat be the ones worn by the park visitors? Perhaps sautéed with bell peppers?
Something sort of freaky tonight. I went down to feed the horses and had to tip out their feed pans because it’d rained today. In one, there was the bottom jaw of some small animal - maybe about 3" long. And then, as I was crossing the creek to go back up to the house, there was a 2nd one. Both looked fresh. My guess was they were possums, but I don’t know. They didn’t seem to have the dentition of rodents or rabbits. I have a barn cat, but I’ve never seen him go after possums. Coyote or fox kill? I don’t know.
StG
Or more likely sautéed with the pepper spray the park visitors were advised to spray at the bears.
I carry this, but the bears always take off running when they see me. Many times you have advanced notice that a bear is near as bears are not very quiet as they crash thorough the underbrush.
We were told by the Rangers another way of distinguishing between the two. Climb a tree. Black bears will chase you up while grizzles will shake you out.But I like yours better.