I am very sure there are no bears anywhere in that chapter
If it wasn't a level created just for the demo, maybe that fight was from a different game demo. I do specifically remember the start of the BG 2 demo, though (freeing Minsc), and was put off IE games until comments in a few topics here convinced me to get Planescape: Torment. After playing that I was willing to give BG another try, but never got around to it.
It most likely takes some getting used to if you come from games like Divine Divinity that don't have any notion of a "party" but imho it is well worth the effort.
I had played lots of party based RPGs before then, just not ones (AFAIR) where different groups could be fighting far enough apart that you couldn't see both at the same time, and where (by default) characters would stand around without any kind of notice after defeating one opponent while their party members were fighting for their lives.
