This is somehow both the craziest and unbearable bear encounter I’ve ever seen… pun intended.
Glacier National Park, located in Montana’s Rocky Mountains, is one of the most beautiful places in all of the United States. The park’s natural appeal, paired with the 700 miles of hiking trails sprawled across the territory, makes it one of the more popular national parks in the country. In 2023, just shy of 3 million people visited Glacier National Park.
Though after seeing this video, people thinking about planning a trip to see the crystal blue waters and the towering mountains might hesitate a bit. Being out in nature always comes with the assumed risk that you could run into wildlife, and one Glacier National Park hiker got more than they bargained for when they came face-to-face with a mama grizzly bear on a trail.
And they got it all on video.
The footage first starts with the hiker on edge as it watches a mountain goat with its baby running away from something. That’s never a good sign, because if you see an animal retreating, that often means an even bigger animal is in hot pursuit. This time around, that theory proved to be true, and the hiker provided this commentary as it all played out:
“There’s a baby goat with a bear (chasing it). Holy f**king sh*t. That’s a bear up there. That’s a f**king bear.”
One of the first things the hiker did was break out the bear spray. If you aren’t familiar with the deterrent, it’s basically just pepper spray that irritates bears. The aerosol spray has good range, and can often encourage a bear to leave, while also providing the person using it to calmly walk away. It’s a great way to avoid potential conflict with a bear.
Having said that, the best way to avoid a potential conflict with a wild animal is to not get close to one in the first place. The National Park Service advises tourists to stay 25 yards away from animals that are deemed “non-violent.” That list includes bison, elk, and other creatures that tend to be relatively docile – though docile is a relative term. When it comes to bears, wolves, and other apex predators, the NPS warns park goers to keep 100-yards between them and the animals.
And let me tell you… this guy was standing a lot closer to the bear than 100 yards.
If I’m being honest, the hiker isn’t the most likable person in the world. I know I’m supposed to root for human safety, but this guy was really testing me. It’s the first person I’ve ever seen trash talk a wild animal while simultaneously being scared to death of it. Here’s what the hiker said at one point, all while keeping the bear spray drawn and pointed at the approaching grizzly:
“Hey buddy. I see you. B*tch, you better get the f**k off the path. Because I will light your a** up. B*tch you get the f**k away. I’m not f**king around.”
It’s kind of ironic that he said that, because in a way, it did feel as though he was “f**king around.” As the grizzly sow got closer, the hiker made fun of it for not getting the baby goat it was presumed to be chasing. This is happening all while the bear was busy sniffing out a rodent that was held up in a bush by the trail.
And the most eye-roll inducing moment was when the hiker worked in a bear pun himself, saying “this is not a beary good situation” as the grizzly continued its approach. Now I’m all for a good pun, but I don’t recommend trying to work one in as your life hangs in the balance. Though I will give props to the guy for getting the bear spray out and having it ready to fire, every other thing that he did came off as trying to get a good video to post on social media.
Guess it worked.
At one point in the clip, it sounds like another group of hikers – with children – had also wandered into the dangerous situation. You can hear one of the kids saying, “If it’s black, fight black. If it’s brown, lay down” after they spotted the grizzly approaching. And the other people apparently informed the guy holding the camera that there were two cubs just on the other side of the mountain. For those not super familiar with a relationship between a mother bear and her cubs… mama bears will stop at nothing to keep their babies safe.
So that put the hikers in quite the scary predicament. They were doing a great job of not running, but they were also doing a bad job of being distracted by the cuteness of the two small cubs that were also on the top of the mountain. Once again, the hiker holding the phone put on a display of what not to do as he turned his back to look at the baby bears:
“Those are adorable. Those are adorable. Oh my gosh, that is so cute. Now where is mom?”
Great question.
Almost as if the mother bear knew that was her cue, she pops up over the rocky terrain once more, and at this point, the hikers were effectively sandwiched between the mother bear and her cubs. It was nature’s version of a jump scare, and put these hikers in Glacier National Park stuck in the middle in grave danger.
Take a look:
Yeah… I was upset that the video just cut off right there too. That’s like getting to the climax of the movie Inception and the screen just going black. It leaves you shaking your fist at the sky asking, “What happened next?”
Though we don’t know exactly how things were resolved, the person who posted the unbelievable video described it as a “close call,” and in the caption said “we survived.” That’s all the information we get though… and I really wonder if the bear spray was ever deployed.
When I went into the comment section to see if people were angered by the abrupt ending like I was, I instead found that social media users who watched the video were appalled by the camera person’s reckless behavior. Shockingly (though not that shockingly), there were a lot of people that admitted they were rooting for the bear:
“Dude has the self preservation of an avocado.”
“Most annoying bear encounter I’ve ever seen.”
“Just walk away… had 20 minutes to leave.”
“Feel like you did everything you could to get eaten.”
“I usually hope the people get away.”
“Why is he walking towards it raising his voice and provoking the bear? I’m honestly team bear.”
