One of the last places on Earth that you want to be is within the sights of a charging grizzly bear. These tourists visiting Glacier National Park learned that the hard way, and one person that was sent running for her life described the moment as her life flashing before her eyes.
It’s estimated that around 400,000 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. Of that total number, Grizzly bears make up around 30,000 to 32,000, and one place where they are often spotted is Glacier National Park.
Wildlife is abundant there, as over 70 different mammal species call the national park home, and mule deer are often easy to spot across the beautiful landscape. More than three million people visit Glacier each year to try and catch a glimpse of the variety of wild animals (like bears, mountain goats, and bighorn sheep).
Some – like the tourists in this video – get a lot closer of a look of the wildlife than they would ever wish.
The National Park Service advises tourists to stay at least 25 yards away from more docile animals like deer and bison. For more dangerous animals, like bears, that recommended buffer zone stretches to 100 yards. Most tourists are responsible and adhere to those guidelines. But sometimes, the wildlife comes to you, and you can’t do much in terms of avoidance.
These hikers at Glacier National Park were traversing a popular trail when a grizzly came running out of the nearby brush. There wasn’t much time to react… and two of the hikers that had their backs turned to the bear didn’t even notice. Plenty of others had eyes on the grizzly from the jump, and one named Micah Lynn showcases what not to do when a grizzly bear charges.
She started to run away, and as hard as it may be to not do that, fleeing can actually trigger a predator’s chasing instinct. Fortunately, this bear’s charge was more of a bluff, and all of the tourists got lucky. The person who posted the video confirmed that “no dumb tourists were harmed” in their caption:
“Almost didn’t make it to this birthday. ‘Go on a hike,’ they said. ‘It’ll be fun,’ they said. Life flashed before my eyes. And YES, I KNOW I did basically EVERYTHING you’re NOT supposed to do in a grizzly attack – but I’d like to SEE WHAT YOU DO WHEN A FREAKING WILD GRIZZLY BEAR IS BARRELING AT YOU FULL SPEED!”
Sheesh… that’s as scary of a grizzly encounter as they come.
The video shows just how fast a grizzly bear can move. They’ve been known to top out at 35 to 40 miles per hour in short bursts, which helps to make them one of the most feared apex predators on the planet. These tourists saw that speed, and were fortunately spared from any sort of attack.
You’ve always got to keep your head on a swivel in bear country.
