Stalked by a Bear

[mod29]

LiveLeak.com - If given the chance, nature will eat you and **** you out a week later

Linked is a video of a man being stalked by a bear. He appears to have only a camera and a stick he picked up off the ground. There is no mention of where this took place. But it's scary to watch.
If the man had a .44 magnum sidearm, would he have had the confidence to stand his ground at the low-ready? Would the bear have acted differently to a man standing his ground, not backing away? hmmmm

-Jim

 

[seagill]

He was backing up rather quickly. The bear just looked curious. Looked like a good time to have some pepper spray, the .44 mag for backup might not be a bad idea either!

 

[Bob R]

That looked like a little baby bear, maybe a 2 year old. He was probably just curious like seagill said. Still, if the little one is around, mamma bear might be nearby also, and she will eat you!

bob

 

[BigBill]

Run Forest run!!!!! raise your arms to look as big as you can to scare it away.

We've been followed by a bear on one side of an old loggin trail while a cat was on the other side in the dark as we (4 of us) walked to our stands. When it got light and we deceided to walk out the bear did the samething all the way down the mountain but stayed out of sight, while hootin at us. This bear was about two years old by the size of its droppings. But many years later its droppings was half a 5 gallon bucket. He is trophy sized now. Soon we'll head up there again.

I been stalked by a mountainlion and luckily i had the sence to back off from an over head ambush point. I made it out ok. But i knew it was above me just waiting. I don't like these big cats there worst than bears. It must have heard my buddies comming as i turned around to go back and away from it. Close but no cigar on this one.

You need to beaware in the woods 360 degrees aware all the time. Listen and smell the woods as you walk. Bears stink and you will smell them first if the wind is right. If the animal doesn't hear you or know your there it will be very noisy. I've seen bears pick up our scent and be as quiet as a church mouse when it left the area thru the crunchy branches and leaves on the ground yet it was instealth mode very quiet as it took off. Besafe, Godbless; Bill

 

[Old 44 Guy]

Bears & Cougars gradually losing their fear of man. Both can cause trouble when in the woods. I hear the wolves in the Rockies are getting bad, too.I always keep on the lookout while hunting or cutting wood.

 

[Class III]

Time to trade in the stick for either an 340 Wby Mag or a 338 Win Mag. Seriously, it looks like a young bear that is just curious as to what he has found in HIS back yard.

Class III

 

[buckeyeshooter1]

could not tell--- is it a cinnimon phase black bear or young grizzly? Thinking it was a blackie? I got a 500 s&w with the 6.5 barrel for wandering the back country.

 

[Maximumbob54]

Ok, now I need to hike with a Marlin .45-70 Guide Gun. Check.

 

[David LaPell]

I remember about 4 years ago hiking with my nephew way up in the Adirondacks and coming across a large set of black bear tracks that were very fresh. He or she was not that far ahead of us and when we got a few hundred yards up the trail we found tracks where the bear had turned to look further down the road towards where were coming from. I was pretty glad to have one of my .45 Colts with me.
About three years ago I was hunting in a pretty similar spot and had my shotgun loaded for grouse. I started to hear something in the woods that was following along with me. Turns out it was a large coyote. I carried with me on hip at that time my Model 29 and was hoping that coyote would get close enough but he never did. Wildlife is fun.

 

[BearBio]

1) Black bear. Looks like a male. Two years looks about right.
2) well fed.
3) a two year old would not be real experienced but if he was stalking, you wouldn't see him. And bears can be QUIET!
4) Moms would be chasing off the 2 year olds about now in most areas (late spring, preparation for mating)= Could just be looking for company.
5) Could be a hugger-mugger bear that's pretty inexperienced. Hugger-muggers false charge so that a hiker will drop or throw his pack down.
6) Ears are up, mane is down, . Acting cautious (EVERYBODY beats up on 2 year olds). No jaw popping or dirt slapping. He's avoiding eye contact

The only thing more I would have done was is raise my arms (PUT THE DAMN CAMERA DOWN!) and maybe pull my shirt up to make myself look larger. Shout very loudly (MUCH louder than he is). If that didn't work, it's time to play tree squirrel (But he can climb also). There's never a sure response, although pepper spray does have the best chance of success=statistically it works the most often (out of hundreds of reports). Make your move and hope for the best.
If you decided to use a firearm, a shot into the dirt would be wisest, I think.

My only charge was a bluff. I yelled, opened up my windbreaker and took a step forward. It was instinctive and was the right thing to do THAT TIME! He got about 6-8 feet away, slapped the ground and ran away. That was a bear (4 year old in a hillside community) we had collared and he knew my scent, so he might not have charged another person (just warning me-I had gotten close to him a couple of days before and he was jaw popping then-also, the girl I had as a research assistant liked to see how close see could get.).

Just thought of another possibility=if this was really back-country, he might not have ever seen a person and was curious. His behavior indicates curiosity.

 

[woodsltc]

Just an observation..............I think it would have been far smarter to "put away" the camera and have my hands free and and be able to react ASAP if the bear got serious.

Course maybe the bear just wanted his picture taken!!

 

[badguybuster]

That would be spooky!

 

[badam0112]

I would have been making trails. That made the hair on my arms stand straight up.

 

[ElToro]

Timothy Treadwell was unavailable for comment...

hey, these things happen. last hunting season a guy in nor cal was mauled while bear hunting. black bears are generally considered big overgrown rats that tear up the trash dumpsters but when cornered or possibly rabid they are dangerous. they will also tear the doors off a car to get the food inside. but in general a bear attack is relatively rare all things considered

you pays your money and you takes your chances. dude didnt have protection and he paid for that choice

 

[jkc]

I concur with BearBio --- little bear, acting more curious than aggressive, probably not much of a threat. I, along with any number of other hikers, encountered a bear of about this age class on a hiking trail in Sequoia NP last year. This bear wasn't spooked by people, but the reverse wasn't true --- some people reversed course and fled. While the bear happily grazed in a trailside cienega, quite a crowd accumulated, completely ignored by the little bear. It was amusing to listen to the comments, epescially estimates of the animal's weight, which actually was maybe one hundred pounds --- many soberly delivered estimates ran to several times this amount...

 

[off road]

My local mountains are loaded with black bears, that are very accustomed to human activity! We ride quiet dual-sport motorcycles, and a typical encounter is to come around a blind corner to find some critter standing there in the road. The other day I came around a corner, and there was a dove on one side of the road, and a mountain lion on the other side, stalking it. I got on the throtle and rode right down the middle between them (would have been real stupid to stop!). The lion just looked up and watched me as I went by. He is still wondering what happened!!!

The guy in the video did three things wrong. 1) He didn't stand his ground. Every encounter I have had with dangerous predators, if I backed off it emboldened them! 2) If he was carrying bear spray, he might have had the balls to stand his ground. 3) If he had a big bore revolver, he would naturally have had the balls to stand his ground.

 

[jagen heie]

anyone else notice the camera flashes? there were at least two pics taken by a second party

 

[amazingflapjack]

I WONDERED ABOUT A SECOND PARTY, AND WHAT THEY MIGHT HAVE BEEN CARRYING (?) I AGREE WITH WHAT BUCKEYE SAID, HOWEVER IF THIS WAS A GRIZZLY, THEN THE OTHER POSTER WOULD HAVE FOUND DROPPINGS THAT COMPLETELY FILLED A 5 GALLON BUCKET, MINE! SOMEONE MENTIONED A FEMALE COMPANION, IT IS IMORTANT TO KNOW HER FEMALE TIME TABLE, AND ACT ACCORDINGLY. I HAD AN ALL NIGHT GAME OF HIDE AND SEEK WITH A LARGE LION BECAUSE OF THIS SITUATION. I HAD A .22 RIFLE, AND A KNIFE. IT WAS WHAT I HAD, A LONG TIME AGO. AS SOMEONE SAID, THE STATS SUPPORT SPRAY BEING VERY EFFECTIVE, THE KIND MADE FOR DANGEROUS BEARS. THE BEAR TURNS AROUND AND RUNS, AS APPOSED TO CHARGING, WHICH MANY DANGEROUS BEARS DO WHEN SHOT, EVEN WITH SOME OF THE HARDWEAR THAT WAS MENTIONED. I ONLY HOPE FOLKS DON'T AUTOMATICALLY SHOOT BLACK BEARS, THEY ARE RARELY AGRESSIVE. A SHOUT OR SHOT IN THEIR GENERAL DIRECTION IS MANY TIMES WHAT IS NEEDED. I ENJOY READING ABOUT DANGEROUS BEAR ENCOUNTERS. ONE THAT STANDS OUT IN MEMORY IS OF A PAIR OF TWIN BROTHERS IN A WESTERN NATIONAL PARK, WHO WERE LAWFULLY UN-ARMED (NOT ME) AND WHO WERE DEDICATED SPIRIT FILLED CHRISTIANS. WHEN THE BEAR-A GRIZZLY-CHARGED THEM, THEY REBUKED IT IN THE NAME OF JESUS, AND IT TURNED AND RAN AWAY-NO SPRAY! PEOPLE ARE THE MOST DANGEROUS CREATURES IN THE WOODS, MOSTLY BECAUSE OF FEAR AND IGNORANCE. IN A REPORT ON THE BEARS OF YELLOWSTONE, THE RANGERS SAID THAT ONE OF THEIR BIG CHALLENGES WAS KEEPING PEOPLE FROM PUTTING THEIR KIDS, ETC, ON THE BACKS OF GRIZZLYS FOR PICTURE TAKING-OH BOY! FLAPJACK.

 

[off road]

Some years ago, I was doing field research on deer habitats for the Forest Service. We never finished each day until sundown, so always had to drive out of the backcountry in the dark. One night there was a bear ahead on the road. I flashed my lights and honked the horn, and pulled up to him slowly to kind of shoo him off the road. He didn't budge, stood up on his hind legs, and gave the truck a swat that left a sizeable dent in the hood. Glad I wasn't on the ATV or dirt bike that day!

Timid and rarely aggressive black bears....my ***!

 

[Chubbs103]

I was hiking around in the Great Dismal Swamp outside of Suffolk, VA when a black bear (probably about 2 years old) crossed the trail in front of me at about 80yds. He seemed to just be moving through so I hung tight for a little bit. As I was walking down the trail a little later, I hear something in the brush and he / she came up out of the canal on my right and walked out into the middle of the trail about 30yds in front of me. He stopped, shook water off of one of his back legs, and turned and looked at me in kind of an annoyed fashion. He then finished crossing the trail and disappeared into the thick brush.

I was carrying a .41 mag MG, but never felt threatened. Had I been unarmed I probably would have felt differently. My wife was so pissed later that she missed the whole deal. Definitely, the closest I have been to a wild bear.

Chubbs