Yes, black bear attacks are indeed rare....
...Madura was backpacking in the park. His remains were found on Sept. 11, 2020, near the remote Hazel Creek area where he had been camping. Backpackers first found an unoccupied tent at Hazel Creek Campsite 82, then discovered what appeared to be human remains across the creek with a bear scavenging in the area and alerted park rangers. An autopsy concluded that Madura had been killed by the bear.
This was in the Great Smoky Mountains N.P. All other Black Bear fatalities were out west.
In Florida 2014
Frana walked out of her house to check on her children who were bicycling in the area when she spotted two bears in her yard. Once outside, she saw three more bears standing inside her garage eating trash they'd pulled from it. Right after, one charged and attacked her. She was able to get away and make it inside and contact 911. She survived the attack, her injuries including 40 stitches on her scalp and cuts, scrapes, and bruises across her body. Frana's residence is beside a nature preserve, where bear spotting's have long been a regular occurrence.
In Virgina 2015:
Cooksey was hiking with her son when they were attacked by a female black bear on the Blue Suck Trail in the Blue Ridge mountains. The duo attempted to get away by going down the side of the mountain, but the bear came after them. Cooksey kicked it, and the bear slipped on the wet ground, allowing them to escape and reunite with her other two children who been on the trail behind them. The bear found them once more, but the group made loud noises to intimidate it. Cooksey survived with injuries; her children unharmed. She didn't have any food with her and there were no cubs present at the time of the attack. It's believed that the bear was hunting.
Tennessee, Appalachian Trail 2016
Veeder, a thru-hiker on the Appalachian trail, was sleeping outside of the Spence Field Shelter one evening when a bear bit through his tent, putting two puncture wounds in his leg. The bear ran off once Veeder began yelling and punching at it through his tent. Veeder and the other campers in the area moved to the shelter to wait out the rest of the night. The next morning, they found that the bear had returned during the night and tore through Veeder's and another camper's empty tent. Veeder's wounds were non-life-threatening.
There were a few others, but they involved dogs getting the bear riled up. Hard to blame the bear for those.
