One of the most secretive and elusive creatures in the wild also boasts arguably the most insane hunting skills on the planet.
With numbers estimated to be between 2,500 and 10,000, they’re pretty hard to find, and even harder to study, but from what we know, they’re some of the most fearsome hunters in the animal kingdom.
With specialized warming sinuses, massive (snow shoe-like) paws, and insanely thick fur, they’re are built for living in the harshest of cold temperatures, and their camouflage is as good as any animal in the world.
But make no mistake, nothing about life is easy for snow leopards. Known as “Ghosts of the Mountain” a solitary lifestyle atop the snow-covered rocky peaks of the Himalayas is Mother Nature at her absolute harshest.
Next time you open DoorDash or Uber Eats because you’re too lazy to walk out to your car and drive down the street for a burrito, just be glad you’ve never had to tumble 200 feet down the side of an icy, jagged cliff just to satisfy your hunger.
This female literally tackles a blue sheep off a cliff, and doesn’t let go the entire way down.
Now, you’d think to yourself, at what cost? Why risk significant injury just to secure a meal? Well, this big kitty was completely unharmed and emerged three days later on the same rocky mountainside, looking for her next meal.
Go big or go home, right?
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Grizzly Bear Chases Mountain Goats Past Hikers At Glacier National Park
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.
This is just amazing though.
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.”
Here’s another video from a couple weeks later… must be a regular occurence:
Young Elk Tries To Escape Wolf And A Grizzly Bear In Banff National Park
It’s hard out here for an elk…
Even in a National Park like Banff, where wildlife is so abundant, it’s not every day that you’re gonna witness an animal encounter like this.
On top of that, to catch it all on video… even crazier.
It might not be the best quality, and our dude is no Steven Spielberg, but amazing none the less.
It starts with a shaking video as you notice something on shore on the far side of the river. It ends up being a wolf chasing a calf elk into the river. It must have nipped it because the elk starts crying pretty hard as it gets into the water. Opting to stay dry, the wolf decides not to pursue, and he glances up at the onlookers before retreating back into the woods.
The young elk lives to fight another day…
Not so fast.
Just as you think the elk may have gotten away, here comes the grizzly charging into the water, making its way across the river. It ends up down stream a ways from the elk still fighting its way back to shore.
As the grizzly hits land, it shows you one of the many reasons they are such an incredible animal. In a matter of seconds it ends up right were the elk touched down on shore and chases it back into the water underneath a bridge.
The bikers who are filming are completely in shock and I can’t really blame them. Imagine your morning work out going along enjoying a bike ride in the mountains and you witness a sequence of events like this?
The elk comes out from under the bridge with the bear right on it tail.
“This is the most epic shit ever… This is planet earth.”
Not for the elk…
However, I see no lies here, it is pretty epic. This would be some type of stuff you see on Planet Earth.
As the elk swims down river it gets some distance on the grizzly. Smart move young one, smart move. The elk made it safely to shore, only to find the wolf waiting for him..
Shit…
“At the end of the video the elk gains some distance but ends up on shore with wolf waiting on the train tracks and the grizzly bear eventually catching up.
Not sure exactly who wins but its definitely not the elk.”
Nature can be a cruel, cruel beast.
Grizzly Bear Attacks 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 Delivers Terrifying Bluff Charge To A Group Of Tourists In Alaska
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.”
