Favorite living bear species?

[angus]

I do not think that the Panda is a species of bear, but I could be wrong.  I know that lately many prolific taxonomists have put it squarely in the ursidae family, but until recently it was thought to be more like a raccoon.  Even now, they'll admit that genetic evidence suggests that the Panda split from the ursines long, long ago.  I think that the debate between the two camps still rages.

I voted for the American black bear for various reasons.  Mainly because I like to walk about in the forests of North America and it is the species that is encountered most often.  I've never encountered one but I've been hearing about it all my life from my father's ten siblings, all of whom grew up in Northern Minnesota, and everyone tells me that unless you get between a mother an her children, you'll likely survive the encounter.  Mainly you just have to make yourself look big and make lots of noise.  That doesn't always work with Polar bears and Grizzley bears, apparently.