If you need a reason to not go hiking, here it is.
This insane viral video comes out of Glacier National Park in Montana. 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).
These hikers got more than a glimpse… they accidentally found themselves in an interactive experience.
Alyssa Olsen and Mason Van Zeeland were hiking on the trails of Glacier National Park when they accidentally crossed paths with not one, but two young grizzly bears. They were both startled and scared as could be, and in the video that Alyssa took, she can be heard saying out loud that she thought it was the end:
“We’re gonna die. We’re actually gonna die.”
Fortunately, Mason brought a can of bear spray and utilized it at just the right time. It sent both grizzly bears running after what they describe was a very tense and brief stare down. ABC 7 posted the video of the couple’s encounter, saying:
“A bear-y close encounter! Two hikers in Glacier National Park got the surprise of a lifetime as two young grizzly bears raced down a trail past them on Memorial Day Weekend. The woman who took the video said the bears were 5 feet away from them.”
@abc7newsbayarea A bear-y close encounter! Two hikers in Glacier National Park got the surprise of a lifetime as two young grizzly bears raced down a trail past them on Memorial Day Weekend. The woman who took the video said the bears were 5 feet away from them. #animals #hiking #glaciernationalpark #bear #outdoors ♬ original sound – ABC7 News
Sheesh… that’s some nightmare stuff right there.
Mason Van Zeeland told ABC that he only deployed the bear spray when one of the grizzlies looked right at them. There’s no doubt that it was the right move, and it led to the apex predator running away rather than running right at them:
“It definitely looked at us, and that’s when I let out a little spray. It turned the other way and run into the woods.”
Your best bet to not be mauled by a bear is to not get close to them in the first place. However, not every outdoorsman (and outdoorswoman) has that luxury. Sometimes, as much as you can try to avoid bears, the big furry creatures end up finding you. The hikers running into these two grizzlies in this clip was just a matter of wrong place, wrong time. And since both of those bears looked pretty young, there’s a chance that they were just more curious than anything. And even if that wasn’t the case, I’d be much more concerned about mama being somewhere nearby.
If a bear ever does get 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. And as you saw in this clip… having bear spray handy while in bear country is definitely the move.
It might have even saved the lives of these hikers. We’ve seen a number of grizzly attacks already this year, and thankfully these folks weren’t one of them.
