This California man is probably thanking the Good Lord upstairs for a) blessing him the instincts to deter this bear attack and b) aiding in the creation of life-saving bear spray.
It’s estimated that 340,000 bears live in the United States, and in certain parts of the country, residents have to always be on alert and keep an eye out for bears. Black bears make up most of that total number (around 300,000), and one place where you are almost guaranteed to see them is in Lake Tahoe, California.
One man in the “Golden State” got a real up close and personal look at one of the bears residing there.
Safe to say that the bear spray worked like a charm for this scary face to face with a burly bruin. If you have any plans to visit bear country anytime soon, I’d make sure to pack a thing of bear repellant, because as you’ll see in this clip, the stuff really works. If you live in bear country, like this guy, bear spray is an absolute necessity.
Your best bet to not be mauled by a bear is to not get close to them in the first place. However, not every person has that luxury. Sometimes, as much as you can try to avoid bears, the big furry creatures end up finding you. The bear in this clip looks like it was led to this home near Lake Tahoe because of the homeowner’s trash, and when it had come to dig through it, it couldn’t have been worse timing.
If a bear ever gets close, experts advise that you make yourself as large as possible (standing tall with your arms over your head) while speaking in a very low, deep voice. You’ve probably heard the phrase, “Hey Bear!” mentioned as a go-to saying in desperate times. In this situation, the man didn’t have any time to stand tall or shout out a defensive greeting. The bear was coming at him fast, and there was only one thing that could save him.
Bear spray.
The homeowner had gone out in his driveway to check things out after it had been aggressive to one of his family members, and sure enough, the bear was still in a bad mood. It came running right at him, and fortunately, he was very much prepared. He had bear spray in hand, and it’s a good thing he did.
Without hesitation, and knowing that the act could very well save his life, the California man sprayed the bear spray right at the wild animal. It worked like a charm, as the bear stopped mid-charge, let out an irritated growl, and then turned away and retreated in the opposite direction.
And it was all caught on security camera footage:
“A man used bear-spray to defend himself against a bear that charged at him in Tahoe. He said on social media that the bear had gotten into their garbage and was aggressive toward his daughter and her friends when they startled it.”
That’s about as scary as an encounter can get.
