Does he not realize that even that small, hemis probably MUCH stronger than he is?! He looks young. Lucky momma wasn’t hanging out. We’d be reading about a mauling.
Given that it’s a black bear, I probably would have done the same thing. When I worked in Yosemite National Park in college I went bear-chasing a few times in the campgrounds. I had a park radio and would switch it to the National Park Service channel that would alert you when a bear’s radio collar activated one of the towers in a campground. I’d then go try to find it and chase it out of the campground. (In hindsight, it may not have been the brightest idea to chase after the mother bear that had two cubs in tow, but she never got aggressive with us and I just made sure not to get between her and her cubs.)
Yosemite had a lot of black bears and in their entire history had never seen anyone die from a bear (I never even heard of injuries). Deer, on the other hand, had claimed lives (antlers and hooves will do you in and they will use them).
As for brown or grizzly bears, I want nothing to do with them.
Why, why do people have to act so stupid? He should watch the documentary on Grizzly Man. That guy was at least halfway respectful, though delusional and weird, and he got torn apart by bears.
This is actually not *entirely* crazy, and I sorta suspect the person who made the video might have some experience with bears. Yes, this looks like a juvenile, and it would certainly be different if the mother was around, but the person making the video seemed to be hesitating themselves, waiting to see if there were any other bears nearby. When it became apparent the bear was alone, they chased it away.
The experience of this bear is now, “There are some very intriguing smells there in the big city, but there are also noisy, crazy ghosts, and one chased me!”
Good comment. I suppose if it’s safe to chase off a juvenile, then you really really should. You don’t want her growing up thinking your garden is good place to hang.
Having had a number of experiences with black bears, I have to agree with Joey and CG that this was indeed the right course of action. The bear may still be juvenile, but definitely not a cub anymore- certainly large enough to be living independently of its mother. Black bears are quite a bit smaller than brown/grizzlies, and also tend to be more timid. Chasing them away like this can actually help deter human/bear encounters and reduce the occurance of nuisance bears, as they don’t get comfortable hanging around where people are.
If you encounter one, the best thing to do is make yourself look big (if you’re with other people join together to make yourselves look even bigger) and make lots of noise- yell, bang stuff together, whatever. I’ve heard stories of extreme cases in which the black bear charged, but when the people stood their ground the bear veered off.
*A seemingly obvious note- make sure you can identify whether the bear is a black bear or a brown/grizzly. Do not try this with the latter!! Also, prevention is the best option- if you are somewhere bears are likely to be, don’t leave food or garbage around which might attract them.
I have to laugh at the comments saying that chasing the bear away is better for the safety of both the humans and the bears. That may very well be true, but the context/content of this video show that such thoughts were the farthest thing from that guy’s mind.
The fact that Abraham only called him an “idiot” is proof of what a nice, gracious guy he (Abraham) is.
In a weird way that may be the craziest thing ive ever seen.
He’s not brave, it was just a cub probably the first time away from it’s Mom. Rah, rah, rah, so he can scare a baby. What a jerk.
“What are you doing bear?” I’m looking for my mom who’s gonna come rip your face off!
EXACTLY what I was going to type. Ten points for you, ma’am.
Does he not realize that even that small, hemis probably MUCH stronger than he is?! He looks young. Lucky momma wasn’t hanging out. We’d be reading about a mauling.
Given that it’s a black bear, I probably would have done the same thing. When I worked in Yosemite National Park in college I went bear-chasing a few times in the campgrounds. I had a park radio and would switch it to the National Park Service channel that would alert you when a bear’s radio collar activated one of the towers in a campground. I’d then go try to find it and chase it out of the campground. (In hindsight, it may not have been the brightest idea to chase after the mother bear that had two cubs in tow, but she never got aggressive with us and I just made sure not to get between her and her cubs.)
Yosemite had a lot of black bears and in their entire history had never seen anyone die from a bear (I never even heard of injuries). Deer, on the other hand, had claimed lives (antlers and hooves will do you in and they will use them).
As for brown or grizzly bears, I want nothing to do with them.
The ads on this site are getting more and more intrusive. Just saying…
I find myself rooting for the bear and Darwinism.
Why, why do people have to act so stupid? He should watch the documentary on Grizzly Man. That guy was at least halfway respectful, though delusional and weird, and he got torn apart by bears.
This is actually not *entirely* crazy, and I sorta suspect the person who made the video might have some experience with bears. Yes, this looks like a juvenile, and it would certainly be different if the mother was around, but the person making the video seemed to be hesitating themselves, waiting to see if there were any other bears nearby. When it became apparent the bear was alone, they chased it away.
The experience of this bear is now, “There are some very intriguing smells there in the big city, but there are also noisy, crazy ghosts, and one chased me!”
Good comment. I suppose if it’s safe to chase off a juvenile, then you really really should. You don’t want her growing up thinking your garden is good place to hang.
… I also found myself rooting for the bear
The title of this should have been “Stupid idiot with a camera…” I was rooting for the bear as well.
This video brought to you by copious amounts of alcohol.
Having had a number of experiences with black bears, I have to agree with Joey and CG that this was indeed the right course of action. The bear may still be juvenile, but definitely not a cub anymore- certainly large enough to be living independently of its mother. Black bears are quite a bit smaller than brown/grizzlies, and also tend to be more timid. Chasing them away like this can actually help deter human/bear encounters and reduce the occurance of nuisance bears, as they don’t get comfortable hanging around where people are.
If you encounter one, the best thing to do is make yourself look big (if you’re with other people join together to make yourselves look even bigger) and make lots of noise- yell, bang stuff together, whatever. I’ve heard stories of extreme cases in which the black bear charged, but when the people stood their ground the bear veered off.
*A seemingly obvious note- make sure you can identify whether the bear is a black bear or a brown/grizzly. Do not try this with the latter!! Also, prevention is the best option- if you are somewhere bears are likely to be, don’t leave food or garbage around which might attract them.
I have to laugh at the comments saying that chasing the bear away is better for the safety of both the humans and the bears. That may very well be true, but the context/content of this video show that such thoughts were the farthest thing from that guy’s mind.
The fact that Abraham only called him an “idiot” is proof of what a nice, gracious guy he (Abraham) is.