Too close for comfort.
A California hiker came face to face with a bear last fall… and I mean FACE TO FACE. So close, she could get a whiff of the bear’s breath…
Lucky for her, this bear wasn’t looking to savor some fresh meat.
According to ABC 7, Victoria Pham was hiking along the Mount Wilson Hiking Trail in Sierra Madre, California, when a number of other hikers warned her about an animal on the trail.
She ignored the warning.
“I noticed these hikers were coming down, you know, kind of in a panic saying, ‘Oh my God! There’s an animal up there.”
It was a big ol’ black bear.
She decided she was going to… “let the bear pass.”
“Well, I can’t outrun the bear and I can’t really go either way off the trail, so I’m just going to let this bear pass.”
I mean, let’s be honest here… you don’t let the bear to anything. The bear let YOU pass… without eating you.
“This bear just came and had my phone out and I just let it pass. He looked at me, and I looked at him and I was like, ‘Cool man!'”
Wouldn’t have been so “cool man” if the bear decided to make you his next meal.
Nevertheless, the woman made it through the encounter without incident
She posted the full video to her Instagram where she revealed that she has quite a bit of bear experience in California. She also admitted that had this been a Montana bear, she probably wouldn’t have done it that way.
“This is a Black Bear (in California) and they are generally easily scared off. I used to work in Yosemite National Park where I’ve gone through bear training and worked in Search & Rescue, so I’m quite familiar with bear behavior and body language.
I do recognize that it is a BEAR and can do serious damage. I was already on trail where I wouldn’t be able to outrun the bear going down hill or engage the bear to go back up the trail since there were hikers ahead.
Know that if I was in Montana or anywhere else in the world, I most definitely would NOT be standing there letting it pass.”
https://www.instagram.com/p/ChBhnbNpMiR/
Hell of an encounter:
North Carolina Black Bear Cub Makes Impressive Leap From Deck
Is it a bear or a monkey?
These things are almost acrobatic in how they can move around the woods. Climbing, running, swimming, and even jumping is no problem for a bear.
Black bears are a very able animal. Everything they do is centered around finding food. They can run up to 35 miles an hour, making them the fastest bear. The run this fast to catch prey when they do decide to hunt. Their ability to climb comes from safety and their love for foods like tree nuts.
From a young age bears learn to climb. They have hooked claws that allow them to easily grip a tree, using their hind legs they push and then use their front to grip onto the tree. They make it look easy.
The power in their legs from these other essential abilities gives them great leaping abilities. They can’t jump up but they can leap horizontally very well.
So, as amazing as this video is, it isn’t super surprising to see.
This black bear cub is seen doing what they do best, snooping around someone’s house, more than likely looking for some easy food and just exploring what is around them.
As the bear reaches the top of the deck, it climbs to the railing and stands up on top of it. As it looks around and notices the human taking a video of them it decides its time to get out of there.
Since climbing back down the deck is definitely not the easiest route, it decides to go a way down that is more common for a bear, a tree. It turns, spots out the closest tree and without hesitation it makes a giant leap to the tree and sticks the landing.
Insane… like a flying squirrel.
These animals are amazing in what they can do and another reason we should never underestimate what they are capable of.
Black Bear Goes Into Full Chill Mode After Winning Fight For Kiddie Pool
Bears are interesting creatures.
On one hand, they can look harmless and cute, making us laugh with sometimes extremely humanlike behavior, like taking selfies or breaking into a house, raiding the fridge, and refusing to leave…
But on the other, much more lethal hand, bears are an absolute wreaking ball of a killing machine, perhaps the best walking the planet.
Still, there’s no denying how absolutely fascinating these creatures can be, and this latest video gives us yet another example.
On July 25th in North Bend, Washington, two bears who grew up together tried to beat the heat by jumping in a kiddie pool. Unfortunately, it wasn’t big enough for the two of them and something had to be done.
They had a quick tussle, with one taking a fast win, causing his friend to scurry away.
And that look on his face when laying down in the pool alone, head resting on the edge?
Absolute pure bliss.
Instant inter-dimensional meditation, relaxation, and zen wrapped up into an exhale of chill and victory.
“These two bear siblings have been hanging around a lot together. Always playing with the balls around the yard or climbing the trees, but especially wrestling with each other.
This time, the victor… after a short round… lays herself down into the perfect Zen position to soak up the sun.”
Ahh to be that bear today…
