What you gonna do if you see this coming right at you?
It’s no secret that mama bears are way more protective and hostile whenever they have their cubs nearby.
Her job is to teach them how to live off on their own until they’re about a year and a half to two years old, and then they’re let out on their own to fend for themselves.
So, whenever you have a run in with a mama bear out in the wild, you better make sure you do your best to not make her or her cubs feel threatened, or it may end pretty badly for you.
This video is example A.
Luckily enough, the person filming is in their car so they can easily escape, but you can see a massive mama grizzly bear trudging directly towards the car in the snow, with four pretty big cubs following behind.
Now it appears that these cubs are a bit older than a year and a half to two years, and there may be a good explanation for that.
According to BBC, more and more bears being hunted by humans may contribute to mama bears hanging on to their cubs for longer than usual.
Joanie Van de Walle of the University of Sherbrooke in Quebec, Canada said:
“Because females that care for their cubs longer survive better under the hunting regulation, we say that hunting has a selective effect (it artificially determines which females are going to survive and reproduce based on their reproductive behavior).
Our hypothesis was thus that hunting regulation could favor longer maternal care in this population.
Therefore, the observed change in female reproductive behavior could be the result of the increasing hunting pressure in the population.”
However, females won’t breed again until their cubs are gone, which is why male bears (also known as boars) will sometime kills cubs in an effort to mate their mother.
Brutal? Yes, absolutely… but that’s nature for you.
Nevertheless, just look at the absolute monster size of this bear family.
Is this the biggest bear family in the woods?
Grizzly Bear & Her Cubs Chow On Elk Calf
Nature, man…
One particular female grizzly bear in Wyoming’s Grand Teton National Park is some what of a big deal. Popular with tourists, “Bear 399” is arguably the most famous grizzly bear in the world.
Grizzly 399 was born in 1996, and according to Outdoor Life she was given her name/number by the Yellowstone Interagency Grizzly Bear Study Team who has monitored her closely for the duration of her life.
She is 7-feet tall, weighs 400-pounds and has given birth to 16 cubs over the years. Though she has spent most of her life in close proximity to tourist activity, the bear has never had a negative run in with humans.
Rafael Sandoval was recently exploring Grand Teton National Park when he captured an absolutely awe inspiring sequence of photos of Bear 399 hunting down an elk calf to feed her own cubs.
The pictures were originally shared by wildlife photographer Rafael Sandoval of Jackson Hole EcoTour Adventures (give him a follow).
“So this just happened last night and my heart is still racing… This grizzly sow #399 bagged an elk calf for a dinner for five after an intense chase. For the past few months, bears in the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem have been browsing on nutrient dense vegetation such as grasses, flowers and roots.
However, as prey species like elk, bison and deer begin dropping calves like it’s going out of style, the bears have begun to switch over to more savory menu options.
The CALFeteria is open, folks!”
Even though it’s only an elk calf, the raw power and speed of the grizzly is on full display. Grizzlies are capable of reaching speeds of 35 mph, which is terrifyingly fast when you think about it.
In one photo the bears long sharp claws are clearly visible as it closes in and overwhelms the baby elk.
The fact that the mama bear had 4 cubs in tow to feed somehow makes the little elk’s demise less sad.
Once the elk was on the ground, those baby bears jumped on that thing like drunk people on a 2AM pizza.
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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.
