Fear of humans is a learned response. Bears that are hunted are very different from bears that are not. I've read that Yellowstone has about the same visitor numbers as the Bob Marshall Wilderness (hard to believe). The number of bear attacks in Yellowstone is 10 times that in the Bob Marshall.
Without hunting, bears would overpopulate and destroy the elk and deer herds. On the Valle Vidal in NM, the bears will grid an elk calving meadow and are effective enough that the elk population was crashing. In NM, it is open enough to spot and stalk. In places where it isn't open, there aren't many ways to hunt without dogs or baiting.
I will agree, bears do learn that humans are dangerous from being hunted by them, but naturally, bears dis like humans, due to we SMELL bad to them, so, its not just hunting them that makes them want to stay away from use
I am all for bears being hunted! its good for them and us! IMO
BUT IMO< the issues with places like yellowstone is, that over generations, bears there have learned that human's are NOT so bad, and have been forced to put up with us bad smelling creatures, they have no reason to leave a good habitat to go else where as all there lives they have known humans are there?
so they just tolerate things best they can to live!
a big part of attack's there is due to humans are well, at times stupid and will try and get closer and closer for photos, and such, and that in return has lessened the bears natural response to humans
The bears simply adapted best they can to the massive amounts o humans in the park
if you went back in time, for decades it was encouraged to FEED the bears while visiting yellowstone(even made movies about this)
so, bears there got habituated to humans in a different way than other places!
you mix a million plus humans in with a large population of ANY animal, and you will have conflicts, , them being hunted or not!
its just the higher odds game being played!as an example,
Bison attack more folks than bears do!
but even with everything, bear attacks are still rare in the big picture
\as the percentage of those attacked as to those that visit the park is a very minute percentage still!
I DO wish they would allow a special draw for hunts in yellowstone though, I think it would be a win win for wildlife and the park itself
I could only imagine what some folks would pay for a chance to hunt there?
that $$$ could do some good there, all the more so now the park need so much work done to fix the flooding damages!