Ask A Bear: Charging Bear Caught on Film

Our beloved bear is out pursuing a particularly fruitful huckleberry harvest somewhere in the Western United States. In his absence, he asked us to share this video with his bear-enthusiastic public. —BACKPACKER EDITORS

Hey all: Everyone who’s presumably concerned about bear safety knows how fast we can run—up to 40 miles an hour in short distances, which is plenty fast to catch any sluggish human (Usain Bolt included).

But it’s still difficult to picture me actually moving that fast, especially since I’m usually a lumbering, fuzzy bucket of blubber (assuming it’s been a good berry/salmon year). It’s all smoke and mirrors: When I want to motor, I can freaking motor.

Any doubters need only watch the following video for proof. Leon Lorenz, a Canadian photographer, captured a charging mama bear and cub in British Columbia’s Robson Valley:

Lorenz fired a warning shot only moments before the Mama bear took him down. He estimates that even if he’d gotten a fatal shot off, she still would’ve had enough energy to get revenge.

Keep in mind: This type of behavior is quite rare, and as long as you keep your distance, I’m extremely likely to keep mine and continue ambling along slowly. Although I can’t imagine anyone wanting to get close to me or my cub after seeing this video.

—BEAR

Got a question for the bear? Send it to askabear@backpacker.com.



via Adventure Life