r/interestingasfuck • u/SnackSamurai • 2d ago

Women stand still to escape from a bear

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984

u/Anothermindlessanon 2d ago edited 2d ago

Basically the same thing! But respect to the girl. I don't know if I could have stayed that still and calm in the same situation!

Edit: for all commenting fight back. Even a 40 lbs dog can fuck you up at that distance and with access to that much bare skin. She did good staying still. We didn't see how it came to this. For the situation shown in the video they all did exactly the right thing.

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u/Awktung 2d ago

Notice the one other girl kept moving and fidgeting and actually stepping away? Yeah, MOST people couldn't do it! That girl was disciplined. Actually, 2 of 3 held still so that's pretty good.

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u/Particular_Bet_5466 2d ago

I mean the advice to get rid of black bears is to yell at them. I guess they kept it calm. I simply saw a black bear the other day and I think it was the scariest day of his life how fast he ran away. I didn’t yell I just grabbed my phone to take a video lol. This one is obviously used to humans which I guess can be more dangerous if it’s not afraid.

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u/WardeN_WtfRylie 2d ago

Getting used to humans is what gets them killed. The reason most places have dont feed the wildlife signs isnt because they shouldnt be eating "human" food its because animals become way more dangerous when they see humans as a source of food.

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u/Particular_Bet_5466 2d ago

Oh yeah, for sure. I mean not even hunters but when potentially dangerous animals start approaching human settlements they may get put down or just killed for entering someone’s property who views it as a threat. Especially if it attacks pets or livestock. I don’t think black bears really attack other animals much, but I’m sure some guy out in the boonies would kill a black bear that kept going on his property that his children play outside on.

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u/leonden 2d ago

I am no bear expert but that sounds as advice you used when the bear is not actively humping you.

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u/DoingBestWeCan 2d ago

Right?! The time to yell is before it's in swiping distance. If its muzzle is 2 inches from my face, I'm going to chill the fuck out when I'm done hyperventilating.

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u/Particular_Bet_5466 2d ago edited 2d ago

Speak for yourself, I can tell you as a fact i’d be screaming in that bitches face making that stupid bear cower in fear. 100% would happen irl, not even trying to flex. Only cowards and non bear experts such as yourself would allow themselves to be humped by a bear and not do anything.

Edit: it was a joke. I was tired of like 50 comments saying yelling is dumb

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u/Loud-Log9098 2d ago

Don't think you're going to go ham and make that bear afraid, that Russian guy went ham on it and it maul the fucking shit out of him. That growl they do is scary. The video where he kicks the black bear

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u/Tabula_Nada 2d ago

I feel like if a bear LITERALLY has its claws on me, I don't want anyone startling it. It's good to be loud and big to keep them away, but once they are physically touching you (calmly touching you), it's probably best to let them do their thing and then get off you while still being calm.

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u/Particular_Bet_5466 2d ago

Yeah lol honestly I’m not gonna say I’m an expert on this but that sounds reasonable to me considering these particular circumstances. It’s incredibly rare that a black bear would be doing this. Yeah, I wouldn’t want to put it into some sort of fight mode when usually you’d expect it to flee but if it’s already not scared of people maybe antagonizing it might not be best. Idk, I’m not giving expert advice.

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u/Tabula_Nada 2d ago

I've run into them in person before too and it was absolutely a scaredy cat. My dog was a tenth of its size and it ran up a tree and cried for half an hour because we were still in the area. It's definitely best to keep them away from the start, but if it's like the bear in this video, obviously unafraid and already on top of you, then it's best to just let it continue while it's being calm until it's off. Luckily this bear got off and walked away, but if if it got off and then still hung around, then getting scary would probably be good.

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u/Particular_Bet_5466 2d ago

Yeah, I can’t say they did the wrong thing because in the end it looks like it all worked out. I was worried if she had food in her pocket that it wanted to get. I don’t think the bear would realize its own strength and a very effortless swipe of those claws to try and get at the food would have eviscerated her with ease.

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u/Shhadowcaster 2d ago

I mean it didn't just jump out of the woods and start petting her so they certainly made a mistake at some point and even then I've scared away a dozen black bears and never seen a hint of aggression from them so even in this scenario best move is to step away and yell at it if it doesn't leave you alone. 

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u/cindyscrazy 2d ago

I think this is a Sun Bear, which are significantly more dangerous than a black bear. Sun Bears kill people more often.

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u/Effective_Divide1543 2d ago

Theoretical advice needs to be adapted to the situation. There's zero evidence that yelling here would have given a better outcome.

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u/teatsqueezer 2d ago

I live in bear country and 99% of them are running as fast as possible at the hint of a human. This one is tagged, and displaying behaviour that would get it killed here. I’m guessing it was raised by people in a rescue, and is all together too comfortable around humans.

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u/HungHippoHippy 2d ago

If this is a japanese bear, they are known for being very aggressive. They're stuck on an island with ever encroaching people so they will attack vs american black bears that will run away.

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u/n10w4 2d ago

yeah I thought doing this with a black bear was a big no no. They should have stood in unison and yelled at it etc as it approached. It worked here, but easily could have been bad. A grizzly is different. Unless the advice has changed recently or something.

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u/Impressive-Shake1710 1d ago

I have an e bike for short trips/ grocery runs/whatever. Came home on it to a black bear in my driveway. I sorta just scooted at it and the homie sprinted out of there. I’m no longer very worried about the black bears on the area. The few mountain lions that occasionally pop up scare the shit out of me though.

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u/Particular_Bet_5466 12h ago edited 12h ago

So I was actually on the trail up Crosier Mountain here in Colorado on New Years Day when a lady was eaten by a mountain lion on the very trail I was on alone with my dog. I was interviewed on the news about it, and I said it didn’t really scare me from going hiking again. Mountain Lions rarely ever attack humans, this was a freak occurrence that hasn’t happened to the millions of hikers in Colorado for 25 years prior to this.

In reality you have a higher chance of dying from hitting an animal while driving to the trailhead. But yes, mountain lions are pretty scary animals. They are so sneaky, I’ve never actually even seen one in person but I know they have seen me. I’ve seen tracks in fresh snow on an out and back trail that were not there when I was hiking “out”

I have not gone to Crosier Mountain again yet, I guess I have been a bit nervous about that. I had hiked it alone just a week before this incident and obviously that was a close call then being there on the actual trail when she was eaten. But in my mind as someone in an engineering field that thinks in terms of stats, I know it’s not necessarily rational if you take proper safety precautions. I think my dog also would be a deterrent and lookout in addition to me.

What really irritated me was that all the comments on the posts about this incident said she was stupid for hiking alone. “Play stupid games win stupid prizes. It’s their land and this is why I never go hiking in wilderness alone” That really pissed me off. The lack of compassion and then victim blaming for something that was an absolute freak accident. More people die from lightning strikes hiking in Colorado, that’s an actual stat. It’s been the universal response if you look it up you’ll see all the comments are like this. Keyboard warriors that never leave the house because of irrational fears.

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u/HAIL_LUMPUS 2d ago

It's not actually pretty good? If you are approached by a bear, there's not any bears that you're supposed to just stand still, the one exception is grizzly bears if they are actively trying to attack you, you should lay in the fetal position and play dead. None of them made the right choice by just standing totally still, the bear was even pawing at her. That is the last thing you want to happen.

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u/Hippyedgelord 2d ago

Also just to be clear, if you play dead to a grizzly/brown bear they will still fuck you up really bad, they will not just leave you alone if you do this. Basically unless you have bear mace or a gun there is no good scenario where you will be left unscathed if one decides to attack you. Grizzlies and polar bears are straight up terrifying and should be avoided at all costs.

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u/Mabuya85 2d ago

*Hugh Glass intensifies*

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u/ABrusca1105 2d ago

I thought the saying goes "if it's black, fight back. If it's brown, lay down. If it's white, say goodnight." How accurate is that?

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u/SlutPuppyNumber9 2d ago

lay down is oversimplified:

Lay face down, protect your head and neck with your hands/arms, use your elbows and knees to prevent the bear from flipping you onto your back easily, try (in vain) to protect your more sensitive areas (think major arteries), and pray for Gaia to send a nice juicy Deer/Doe your way.

You are going to be hurt badly.

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u/NeighborhoodDear2321 2d ago

The grizzly will still fuck with you, but by playing dead you call into question the quality of your meat if it's a hungry bear ("Oh shit how long this thing been dead I dont wanna eat rot") or feigning successful kill for a territorial one. ("Yeah fucker's dead")

In both cases, there will probably be a lot of clawing and gnawing before it leaves.

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u/Cnidarus 2d ago

That's not accurate. If a brown bear is being predatory you are probably fucked but should try to fight back with whatever at that point (but you probably won't survive it). If it is deciding to eat you then it will eat you, it knows exactly how rotten you are because it has a nose better than a bloodhound, and it would still be happy to eat meat that's so rotten it sloughs off the bone.

They also aren't territorial animals as such (they're defensive, which is why most attacks are around cubs or carcasses), but you're mostly right about the second part. They don't necessarily need to think you're dead, just be confident that you're not a threat.

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u/Cnidarus 2d ago

It's not particularly. It's a rule of thumb sort of, that relies on the majority of interactions with the species mentioned. You really just have to be aware of body language and try to gauge a bear's intentions.

So for black bears the idea is that if it's attacking you then it's probably predatory, and so you're fighting to survive. If you play dead after a black bear attacks you then it will eat you alive. While for brown bears an attack is often defensive so it just wants to make certain that you're not a threat. However, again if it's actually predatory and you play dead it will also eat you alive.

The polar bear but was tacked on later by people trying to be clever, but the idea is that it's usually being predatory and they're big enough and dangerous enough that you can't do anything about it. But that's stupid, and you should fight back. You're trying to convince it that the juice isn't worth the squeeze, and since we're not actually a great food source you're in a better space than many arctic animals. Plus there are many stories of polar bear attacks that led to the human surviving just by holding it off long enough for someone to shoot the bear. Don't accept death just because your chances are low

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u/donjamos 2d ago

Id say polar bears are usually gonna be hungrier then the other kinds aren't they? Because of all that snow and entailing scarcity of resources? So if it sees 80kg of meat just casually walking around it's a good bet it's gonna try to eat said meat.

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u/Prior_Pickle1758 2d ago

What about like a big ass rock or a spear. Which would you pick

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u/Hippyedgelord 2d ago

Neither choice matters because if you choose to fight you are definitely dead, a good swipe from a grizzly can easily break an arm or leg.

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u/HAIL_LUMPUS 2d ago

Oh yeah for sure lol That's just the advice if it's already attacking you, at which point you're probably dead anyway, lying perfectly still in the fetal position just gives you the best chance of survival, but you probably won't survive.

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u/Open_Helicopter4482 2d ago

Not the fetal position for Grizzlies, you wanna belly down like youre stalling in wrestling so its harder for the bear to turn you over and expose your soft tasty bits like your belly and neck.

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u/bro69 2d ago

I just stay 500 miles from bears at all times

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u/Anothermindlessanon 2d ago

We didn't see how it came to this. At this distance they all did pretty good. Not saying they shouldn't have done something differently before this happened. But at this point to fight back would be not the right reaction.

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u/frejas-rain 2d ago

Agree. The bear was sniffing, curious. It would have been stupid of the humans to get rowdy. I freely admit I am not a bear expert . . . but this animal really didn't look like it was angry, tense, or aggressive.

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u/MoreFeeYouS 2d ago edited 2d ago

Ah yes, reddit scientist telling us the ladies didn't do the right choice while they literally remained unharmed after a physical encounter with a bear.

But I am sure what you think they should have done is way more correct.

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u/Metalgsean 2d ago

Honestly people seem to think the animals have read the same anecdotes that they have, or that they have some kind of code. If you walked away you did the right thing that time.

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u/swingin_dix 2d ago

https://www.nps.gov/articles/bearattacks.htm

Section 2, paragraph 2

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u/MoreFeeYouS 2d ago

Should have shown this piece of paper to the ladies how wrong they were

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u/swingin_dix 2d ago

Ignorant fool

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u/MaggotMinded 2d ago

Just because it turned out alright this time doesn’t mean it’s the best course of action.

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u/Jubachi99 2d ago

If you yell and the bear decides to fight instead of run you are FUCKED at that range

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u/Tabula_Nada 2d ago

If a bear was standing on me like that, being calm and curious but with its claws up against me, I'd much rather everyone stay quiet and let it do its thing on its own time. The moment someone startles it, those claws are going to jab into the first thing they can, which is my skin.

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u/HAIL_LUMPUS 2d ago

It didn't start like that. It started away from them and they stood still while it walked up to them.

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u/TNVFL1 2d ago

Yell and scream at a polar bear and it’ll take it as a challenge

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u/HAIL_LUMPUS 2d ago

Did I say that's what you should do? No. I said staying still is the wrong choice with any kind of bear. And that includes fucking polar bears 🤣

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u/TNVFL1 2d ago

You said you shouldn’t stay still with any kind of bear, implying that people should not stay still, which usually means making loud noises and/or running.

Can’t do any of that with a polar bear.

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u/frenchiebuilder 2d ago

Google Nikita Ovsyanikov.

He's researched polar bears up close for decades, without ever getting attacked, relying on just straight-up intimidation.

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u/Tabula_Nada 2d ago

Yeah I was shaking my hands out like she was, just watching this. I didn't even think about it as a relatable nervous reaction until I watched this and the bear kept coming back.

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u/HuckleberryOdd7745 2d ago

at the end when the main girl started moving away the first girl that kept trying to get away was like WAIT UP guys dont leave me like i was trying to leave you guys.

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u/Anuki_iwy 2d ago

Edit: for all commenting fight back. Even a 40 lbs dog can fuck you up at that distance and with access to that much bare skin. She did good staying still. We didn't see how it came to this. For the situation shown in the video they all did exactly the right thing.

Even a 3kg (6pounds?) cat can shred you. We have very soft skin and anything with claws and sharp teeth can do a lot of damage. Cat bites for example can go deep enough to sever ligaments. And they get infected badly. Friend of mine was attacked by his own cat when she got unexpectedly spooked and in her panic she clawed his entire arm. He needed urgent emergency care because the arm was bleeding insanely. Also needed many stitches, overnight in hospital, antibiotics and tetanus shot.

Source:

Being mauled by this guy when it's bath time or dewormer pill time

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u/Anothermindlessanon 2d ago

Yeah...you are correct. My Mains Coon's bites at my forearm were deep and bad enough to give me blood poisoning and a two days hospital stay (I thought I disinfected it pretty well, but the asshole bit me deep enough to actually splitter the bone a little. I had to work for a couple of days after the bite too. So it had time to get into my bloodstream. He is 16 now and an old man, but he was an absolute menace to the society in his younger years)

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u/No-Examination-4850 1d ago

cats bite SO hard, mine accidentally bit through my fingernail once thinking it was a treat 😭

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u/EastLeastCoast 2d ago

Anecdotal, but I saw a girl mauled by an 8lb tabby and a girl mauled by 100lb pit bull. The cat fucked her victim up wayyy worse than the dog.

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u/Anuki_iwy 2d ago

Cat have extremely sharp teeth and claws. They are psychotic murderers packed in a tiny body. They also have a big strength to size ratio. I was annoying my cat yesterday so eventually he gave me a warning slap with his paw. I saw stars for a second 😂

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u/nullptr777 2d ago

Instead of letting him maul you, turn him into a purrito. They hate it but it's hilarious and it stops you getting shredded.

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u/Anuki_iwy 2d ago

Yes, we do that. He's a very spicy purrito though 😂😂😂

I also have a move where we squish him down with a pillow, it's called the panini press 😂

He's a super sweet cat otherwise.

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u/Go_Gators_4Ever 2d ago

She's trying to discretely get her mace from her hip pack.

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u/sethlovesyou 2d ago

anna jay don’t need no mace

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u/gergsisdrawkcabeman 2d ago

I 100% thought about this meme the entire time I watched that bear throw some Hella game.

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u/ptracey 2d ago

lol I don’t think most people actually understand this meme 😂. Or are you actually a fan of Johnny Hungee?? 💪🏼

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u/Default_Defect 2d ago

Its so funny to see the evolution of this picture's use in the greater internet.

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u/ShortBrownAndUgly 2d ago

Does anyone know the source of this photo? Was it a skit?

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u/Suspicious-Gur6127 2d ago

John Silver (AEW wrestler) and Anna Jay (AEW wrestler recreating that one dodgers fan baseball meme.

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u/3rdItemOnList 2d ago

Aew it was a joke. She was in on it.

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u/Opossum_mypossum 2d ago

I feel like I read somewhere this bloke is a wrestler. Wouldn’t be surprised based on his pipes

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u/Pjpjpjpjpj 2d ago

Depends upon the species, but in North America black bear are skittish. The direction from wildlife professionals is to make a lot of noise - yell, bang metal - and try to look big. Never let them get close.

This behavior is basically teaching bears to go up to humans and try to find food on them. They are being allowed to get far too close. Sooner or later, this will turn into a confrontation. The human may end up getting hurt. And the bear will have to be shot. Because the bear was taught to let people get close.

The same thing happens when people think it’s appropriate to throw their backpack with food in it on the ground and run away. They are literally teaching the bear to attack humans until they throw their backpack on the ground. That ends up and eventually the bear being shocked for attacking humans.

I was just hiking down a trail that had a sign saying there was a mountain lion seen in the area. The sign, put up by Park Rangers, said that if one begins to approach you, you need to face it, stand your ground, look as big as possible, and if it comes anywhere near near you, start punching and fighting for your life, because you are. If you stand still, it will attack you. If you begin walking away, it will attack you from behind.

Standing still is absolutely appropriate for many types of animals. That is not the correct way to handle a North American black bear encounter. She did not do the right thing, and should never have allowed the there to get that close. If this was a wild encounter with a North American black bear.

Of course, it was a different species on a different continent, that would come down to the wildlife specialist to advise the best course of action. Unless you know the exact details, it is not appropriate to say that this was the right behavior.

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u/theboxer16 2d ago

Staying still is the opposite of what you’d want to do in this situation unless you want the bear to approach you and check you out. It makes you seem unthreatening and approachable to the bear. It’s a black bear so it is very unlikely to attack or do much which it didn’t do. You want to literally “attack” to scare it away. Black bears are total pussies and do not want a challenging meal or to get into a fight. Yell and make yourself look as big and threatening as possible. They did what you’d want to do with a grizzly bear encounter and appear non-interesting or intimidating (look away and lay down) otherwise a brown bear would fuck them up.

If it’s black attack
If it’s brown lay down
If it’s white goodnight

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u/TJaySteno1 2d ago

You don't need to fight, just be loud and look as large as possible. That looks like a black bear and a small one. They're usually scared of humans. If all 4 people there (including the camera man who is apparently looking for NFL footage) started shouting and waving their arms, the bear would almost certainly run away.

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u/michiness 2d ago

I love all these people on their computers who've probably never even been hiking, let alone seen a bear, commenting on how these girls did the "wrong thing."

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u/Worth_External_8762 2d ago

I love how you think because you've hiked before and seen a bear that you're somehow now an authority on the matter.

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u/GodlessScallywag 2d ago

I love how you just pulled something out of your ass that they never said.

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u/Worth_External_8762 2d ago

It doesn't take a genius to read between the lines of what she was trying to say.

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u/GodlessScallywag 2d ago edited 2d ago

You're right it doesn't, just someone smarter than you apparently.

Try going back and reading a little slower. She didn't even claim she knows anything about bears or hiking; what a strange narrative to invent.

She actually said the opposite of what you're claiming she said. That keyboard warriors should NOT be judging strangers who did their best in an emergency situation.

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u/Worth_External_8762 2d ago

https://giphy.com/gifs/l4FGuhL4U2WyjdkaY

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u/_phantastik_ 2d ago

Lord you are awful

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u/GodlessScallywag 2d ago

I feel dumber for having engaged with them.

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u/xrelaht 2d ago

You don’t wanna teach a bear it’s ok to approach people: that’s how they end up dead. I’m not saying fight back, but it’s best to dissuade them, ideally before they get anywhere near this close.

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u/Hot_Share8353 2d ago

Fight back is the correct response to a black bear attack you, but this was not a bear attack, this was a bear thinking she has some snacks it could eat. It would not surprise me if her hair product was "almond honey" or something.

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u/pontiacband1t- 2d ago

Besides, black bears usually don't attack unless provoked. At a distance, it's best to yell and make yourself big to scare the bear away, but this close you can't know how the bear could react. He could flee or he could see you as such a threat that his only option is to fight back, and in that case you are dead. Maybe mistakes where made in allowing the bear to get this close, but once you are in that situation, what's shown in the video is the course of action.

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u/PlayfulSurprise5237 2d ago edited 2d ago

No 40 lb dog is fucking me up, anything on 4 legs, not small, and less physically powerful than me is an easy fight.

4 legged animals are at such a MAJOR disadvantage it's almost comical. I have a very rough dog who loves to play to the extent you'd almost think she was just attacking something. I can not get bit and completely disable her with ease.

And the size is actually a disadvantage for them, the smaller they are the harder it is to pull off. Cause a cat would fuck me up way more than a dog ever could, it's so fucking hard to subdue them. I mean you could kick something small like that pretty hard and probably fuck it's world up, but IDK I've never tried and dont want to. I have a feeling though they would just latch on with their claws and maul the shit out of you.

Plus cats reaction times are really fast. With my dog(and boy is she quick), she's simply not fast enough that she can stop me from getting my hand on her neck and preventing her from biting, and then quickly getting her down and on top of her. And she loves to use her claws, both front and back, like a cat(she thinks she's a cat sometimes I swear), maybe I get a little nicked from those in the process, but it's pretty quick and not much more than a glance or 2.

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u/Parking-String-5356 2d ago

Fighting back/looking big/making a lot of deep noises that are loud is what you need to do against black bear. Black bears spook easily and will run off. You don’t want to fight it-you want to scare it.

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u/NickDanger3di 2d ago

I don't know if I could have stayed that still and calm in the same situation!

For the whole video I was watching Blue Top girl and thinking the same thing.

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u/sock_full_of_mustard 2d ago

Nah black bears are skiddish and mostly harmless. Yell and get big/hold backpack overhead to appear taller. Stand your ground.

Don’t ever let it get this close to you. Only reason it did is because they stayed still.

Black Attack
Brown Lay Down
White Goodnight

Trust the rules…unless you think you know better (hint: you probably don’t)

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u/hydroracer8B 2d ago

"if it's black, fight back. If it's brown, lay down"

Homie has never been in the woods before. Black bears are pretty timid and will get outta there pronto if you make yourself tall and yell

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u/conflictedideology 2d ago

At least the bear went away after it was ignored long enough.