The guy in this video has nerves of steel.
Bear encounters can be and usually are incredibly intimidating. It’s obviously best to avoid bears (and stay 100 yards away from them) if possible, but sometimes people are just in the wrong place at the wrong time.
If you are to come face to face with a bear, you are supposed to make yourself appear tall, raising your arms high above your head and speaking at the bear with a very low voice. “Hey bear” is a popular phrase of choice for those that have either encountered bears or advise on bear encounters.
Above all else, you are supposed to stay as calm as possible if you are to brush shoulders with a bruin, and that’s easier said than done. However, the man in this video put on a masterclass on how to handle a bear encounter when one walked right up to him in Alaska.
Luckily, he was armed with bear spray if anything were to go down. But he was doing his best not to use it, as he cited a slightly modified version of Kenny Rogers’ “The Gambler” while he assessed the situation:
“Where you going there? This is one of those circumstances where you gotta know when to hold ’em, know when to fold ’em, know when to walk away, or know when to use your bear spray.”
Absolutely magnificent. Not only was this guy calm enough to avoid a bear attack, he was somehow in the right mind to spit out a helpful parody of Kenny Rogers’ famous country song.
He and the camera man evaluated the female bear and figured that they just needed to stay still. The man had his bear spray aimed and ready to fire, but that was going to be utilized only if the bear became aggressive:
“Right now she’s just going to the river, but our first line of defense is to really assess their body language, what their intentions are. And then if they become aggressive, then you use this pepper spray. I would definitely use it at this distance. Spray it, spray her, I see now this is actually a grandma.”
The older female bear plopped down right next to them and took in the sights and sounds of the river, keeping an eye out for salmon and seemingly not caring that the two people were next to her.
It’s incredible footage:
And because he alluded to “The Gambler” in the video, I thought it would only be right to include it below since it’s likely stuck in your head anyways.
Feel free to insert the “bear spray” line in place of the “know when to run.”
