Talk about a wild hike. Everyone hopes to see some nice views, maybe an animal encounter of sorts from afar, but a big ol’ grizzly barreling down the trail right at you? Not what you signed up for…
What if it decides you’re gonna be its dinner instead? I mean, honestly, the mountain goats have a MUCH better chance at getting away. The video, from Glacier National in Montana, starts showing some goats running on the trail with more people in the distance on the other side of them. One of the goats is coming right for the man filming. Then out of nowhere comes a hungry grizzly trying to catch itself some lunch. Needless to say, this explains why the goats we’re running like something was chasing them.
Now, the man filming is panicked too.
As the camera views shakes around in the panic heavy breathing is heard as the grizzly runs on by, ignoring the hikers to the chase the goats. A little bit more an adrenaline rush than they bargained for, eh? The video steadies out as the bear continues to chase the goats that are now in the distance.
The clip is amazing, the background is picture perfect and it showcases just how quick and amazing both mountain goats and grizzly bears are. The goats are out here living on mountain side being chased by grizzlies. The grizzlies out here chasing around goats that lives on mountain sides to survive. It’s a pretty crazy world out there.
And it’s great that these national parks have such an abundance of wildlife and tourists to capture these crazy moments.
“While hiking the Hidden Lake Overlook Trail in Glacier National Park, I watched a grizzly bear charge after mountain goats. The bear and goats came right onto the well-traveled trail, frightening the hikers who were a few feet from the action. The bear and the goats eventually left the trail and headed down the mountain.”
Good times, eh?
Grizzly Bear Charges Two Bowhunters
NOPE…
Bears might be one of the coolest, most badass animals on the entire planet. And for many of the same reasons, it also makes them some of the most terrifying animals on the planet. Big, fast, strong… if you happen to find yourself in the unfortunate position of getting changed by a bear, it might be too late before you even get the chance to react. For these two bowhunters in Canada, that was nearly the case.
While hunting near Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, these bowhunters stumbled upon a big ol’ sow and her two cubs at the feed barrel, but once she got a whiff them, she locked on in a full blown charge.
“These two hunters were watching a bear and her cubs when the larger animal suddenly charged towards them. Luckily, the two men were able to scare the bear off and walked away with only minor injuries.”
Thankfully, these fellas escaped with some minor injuries, and what I can only imagine is a freshly soiled pair of shorts.
But… they caught the entire thing on camera.
Grizzly Bear Bluff Charges Group Of Alaskan Tourists
Few animals on earth are more terrifying than grizzly bears, especially a mama grizzly protecting her cubs. The sheer size, speed, and power of the bruins makes them capable of dealing deadly blows to humans with ease.
Spring is one of the best times of the year to observe bears, and they’re a major tourist attraction throughout the wild places they inhabit. The bears are very active in the spring, as they emerge from their dens hungry and searching for food. Spring is also when mama bears have cubs in tow though, so encounters with bears can be particularly precarious.
While a group of tourists was watching a mother bear and cubs at a safe distance from across the river, a curious young grizzly unexpectedly stumbled up behind them at an uncomfortably close distance.
The tour guide quickly realizes that his can of bear spray was in the pocket of someone else’s coat at the time, so discharging it was not an option. Instead he was forced to pull out his .44 magnum, a last resort for protection that he fortunately did not need to use in this situation.
He also recognized that the bear was approaching out of curiosity and not animosity, which allowed him to stay calm and use his voice and physical presence to deter the bear from starting a fight. With over a decade of experience observing grizzlies, the guide also recognized that the initial charge from the bears is typically a bluff more so than an attack.
To further deter the bear from barreling into the group, he advised the folks behind them to raise their hands in the air like they a true a player to make them selves look notoriously big in the eyes of the bear.
When exploring bear country, it’s important to understand the situation, circumstances, and species of bear you’re dealing with so the appropriate response can be taken to deter an attack.
The National Park Service has a detailed guide on handling bear encounters that all outdoor enthusiasts should brush up on.
Here’s more from the guide:
“At 0:50 you hear me tell everyone to, “get behind me and put your arms in the air” this is pretty standard procedure for this situation and the only move left to discourage a real charge, short of firing my .44SW.
The reason I placed the group behind me is that if that bear charges I am the only person with any hope of stopping it, meaning I need to be in front, facing that risk head-on with nothing and no one impeding my movements.
If a bear charges with intent to kill, you only get one shot to stop it before it grabs someone at this distance.
The reason I didn’t fire my .44SW is twofold. First I honestly didn’t and still don’t KNOW how this bear would have reacted. It could have run off or the gunshot could have also CAUSED a real charge, and secondly because if the bear grabs ahold of me I want every bullet.
In this video, I am carrying an S&W Model 29, 44 mag, with 305 Gr HSM Bear loads producing 1075 foot pounds energy.”
