One of the things about living in the country, or a rural area, a wooded area… you just never know what kind of critters are gonna be lurking in your barn, in your garage, or around the property. Unfortunately for those in bear country, you’re dealing with one a relatively dangerous predator, who also happens to be one of the most curious creatures in the woods. Add in their ravenous appetite and it’s not hard to see why it’s just tough to keep bears out of trouble.
Garbage cans, cars, sheds, barns… bears will find a way to bust into anything in search of food.
That being said, encounters are just bound to happen from time to time, and it’s all about knowing what to do when the situation presents itself. Now, as you may be aware from the old saying, “brown lay down, black fight back,” that if you ever have a close encounter with a bear, especially a black bear, you shouldn’t run away from it, because that just gives it more of a reason to think you may be a threat and/or prey, and could trigger a chase response.
However, I’m not sure that squaring up with a young cub and throwing hands with the bear is what they had in mind. But this guy did…
Video footage from a surveillance camera has gone viral featuring a man walking up to his barn, with a couple small dogs on a leash, and his girlfriend close behind, only to find a young black bear hanging out inside.
Shocked at first, the man then appears to be overtaken, and goes full on demon mode on this massive creature. A proper response to a black bear, he does all the right things… he gets big, he gets loud, he walks up and starts roaring like he’d just gotten possessed in a scene from The Exorcist. But as the bear continues to approach, he delivers a swift slap across the bear’s face, and it immediately appears that the bear doesn’t want the smoke.
The guy continues to growl at it, which is enough to terrify just about anybody. He gets a shovel and starts banging it to scare the bear off some more, before spotting some more cubs and opting to hightail it out of there. Probably a good idea… if there’s cubs nearby, that probably means mama is nearby… and he’s gonna need something bigger than an open palm to handle her.
It’s uncertain where this happened at (it kinda gives me some Pacific Northwest vibes), but sheesh, you would’ve thought that this guy had been practicing for this moment his whole life. He then turns around and proudly, yet shockingly, tells the woman he was with:
“I just sucker punched a bear.”
And she responds:
“Yeah, you did.”
Insanity.
Bears & Their Cubs
Black bear mothers are famously protective. Cubs are usually born in January or February and weigh just half a pound at birth — smaller than a loaf of bread. By summer, they’re climbing trees, learning to forage, and following their mother everywhere.
The bond between a sow and her cubs lasts about a year and a half, during which she teaches them survival skills: what to eat, where to find shelter, and how to avoid danger.
Like many wild animals, black bears once faced population declines due to habitat loss and unregulated hunting. But thanks to strong conservation measures, most populations have rebounded — a rare success in modern wildlife management.
Today, the black bear population in North America is estimated at over 800,000, and in many regions, they’re even expanding their range. Managed hunting seasons, public education, and careful habitat protection have helped ensure this species remains healthy and stable.
