Absolutely. Even tame, they can kill just by having a grumpy tantrum or by mistake.

They are omnivores, a small portion of their diet is comprised of meat. We see lots of videos of bears hunting and catching fish because its exciting, is a bear eating berries off a bush exciting, not really, but that and other foraging behavior is basically what they do.

Yeah it would be the worst way to die

I live in bear country.. If you don't want to carry a gun or bear spray that's your prerogative but I have a family. I know what bears can do. U make it sound like UR gonna get killed U cant stop it so dont try lol This is the problem and why Ted Bundy killed so many women . The atmosphere in America was submit if you're attacked submit you will be raped hopefully they will let you go they just want that if you fight you will make him mad and he will kill you... But guess what EXPERTS told those women to submit to attacker so U can live. The women used this trusted advice. U know how Ted BUNDY was caught??? A woman fought for her life. She DIDNT COMPLY . SHES ALIVE TODAY BECAUSE SHE FOUGHT. That professional advice should have had experts sent prison . Reputations should have been scarred & trashed. But they shrug it off. Whoops we were wrong. Yes u should fight NEVER go to second location

Naw, read actual reports of every grizzly attack. There've been dozens of encounters that allowed the person enough time to use bear spray or a firearms.

It's a good point to have a healthy fear of them. I probably didn't make that point well enough, but that should have extended into the point about being aware of your surroundings. That fear should drive that awareness and caution when hiking, especially in low visibility areas. Granted, the ones I come across typically don't come into conflict with humans and development since they are commonly in Grand Teton and Yellowstone National Parks, and therefore are still completely wild. However the ones that do have at least one run-in or two with human conflict will act in more unpredictable ways, which can be problematic. Thank you for helping with those points that I forgot to mention!

@@FreeRoamingPhoto yes exactly, studies show that many animals have been changing set behaviors and patterns. Environmental encroachment , decreasing food sources, and climate change. My daughter is an archeologist and had worked in Yellowstone National park, and others. She noticed that bears are losing their natural fear of humans, and Bear attacks have risen drastically in the past decades. And in some instances even using bear spray set them into a rage, causing them to attack. I believe many Apex predators are changing / deviating from known behaviors because of climate change that is now at warp speed. It’s a pretty scary scenario, to think what will their conditions will be in the future and what will their behaviors be like in five - twenty years.

@@kelleywarriors7091 the "climate change" is rapidly occurring because of atmospheric aerosol spraying from military and commercial jet liners. Nanoparticles of Aluminium, Silicon, Barium, Strontium etc. have worked their way into the brains of humans and the entire food chain, as these nanoparticles are electrically conductive as is required for geoengineering, who knows how these particles which now permeate the soil and water is affecting the brains of other Apex predators besides humans. Like those tigers in India that have become extra aggressive due to their only source of river water being contaminated with excess Salt...

Sadly, today, I don't go out and about in a major city without a firearm (legal - here).. I also don't go into Apex predator territory without one. Hope to never use it! BUT I'm not about to be defenseless against anything, or anyone.

I don't need to be afraid of bears but I do need to respect them, I do need to keep a clean camp and I do need to keep bear spray close... This is an excellent video.

Indeed.

😹😹😹

Timothy Snackwell

Reminds me of “hold my beer and watch this”…..

Naw, it's realistic. He didn't say don't be prepared, he said not to worry.

Lol I do the same.. I keep my speaker connected to my phone and have something LOUD ready to play anytime.. Bears, coyotes, moose, they all go the other way when the drums & screaming starts lol

@@mikefrost1312 when you turn the music off there's a deafening silence lol no wildlife for miles around!

@@sergeanttibs6345 I scared the hell outta my buddy last fall doing it🤣 I saw a black bear, he didn't see it. I hit play & I believe it was some behemoth song that was playing.. Something with a deep, LOUD growl scream lol. Bear took off though! My buddy said "no surprise they run, they probably think it's a friggin dinosaur coming through the woods" 🤣 and especially up here in the mountains, the echo prob sounds insane!!

@@mikefrost1312 hilarious!

@@mikefrost1312

Best comment I've gotten on this video. Thank you!

Sorry. I know too many "bear experts" who ended up as bear shit.

Don't go into bear country simple are they not in a nature reserve with fences!

@@michaelholt8590 please cite who they were and scientific references to cases. Without that your comment is less than useless. Steven Herrero's book is a must read.

@@martinep6293 There is a channel here called "Scary Bear Attacks" that tell the stories of real, documented bear attacks. Several are of so called bear experts that end up learning more than they ever know. Several were found with their empty can of bear spray.

Thank you and I hope so too! I'm glad you found it helpful.

Thank you for commenting and glad you found it helpful!

I can't speak to the specifics of isolated incidents, as tragic as they are, yet this was the first black bear fatality in that park in over 100 years, which still makes attacks incredibly rare in that region. Likewise, grizzlies especially should always be treated with respect, which I hope I convey well enough in the video. Even still though, while attacks do tragically happen, they're nearly always the result of someone doing something they shouldn't have been doing, something also discussed in the video. This video also isn't intended to give people permission to go sneaking around off trail and through remote areas, something else I hope comes across. Instead, this video is more for people hiking along at least relatively popular trails where bear attacks are virtually nonexistent. Hope that helps and thank you for commenting!

Simply put, dumbing down the threat is bad advice, though this man has a lot of good tips as well, at least for the amateurs... Here in the USA Americas we have the luxury of being able to carry pistols and long guns, especially in bear territory...You'd almost be looked on as a fool in Alaska if you were not carrying.

@@FreeRoamingPhoto Are you current with attacks, especially the ones the National Park Service prefers not to comment on? There's a HUGE uptick.. Even with Polar Bears... I'm not gonna go down the "global warming" road, but it is a thing, and it is effecting a LOT, temperature wise, currently... Especially bears... Curious...Would you hike and camp in and all through Glacier NP with only bear spray?

I'd definitely go out backpacking in Glacier with bear spray. I have friends up in the area that have hiked and backpacked every trail in the park numerous times and millions of other people do it every year. The same basic principles remain the same, plus a few more for overnight stays. I didn't get into camping or backpacking in this video, but I would make sure anything at all I was carrying that had a scent was locked away in a bear canister that I'd stash away from my tent, which is what the advice I'd give on that topic would reflect. Thank you for commenting and I appreciate the conversation!

@@FreeRoamingHiker i did a coarse survival and hunting, its long ago was in Canada, it mentioned not to use strong scented soap/make up, no problem for me, cooked on woodfires so everything did smell like smoke, garbage i burnt and also i did burn out the thin cans, i lived in Canada from 1978 till 2000, camped out a lot, also in Alaska, never bothered to take a gun along nor bear spray, i do hate to disturb wild life, i rather avoid the back country during very dry periods, forest fires comes in mind, i had a small dairy farm in the woods, and yes, of coarse bears around, only one problem bear steeling a calf, it was shot by fish and wildlife, that was it in all those years, it was much easier then i ever could imagine living with wildlife, like moose, a mountain lion, etc, my cows did know when it was close, some evenings no way they wanted to leave the barn, some nights that big cat was very noisy, sure waked me up, so did the wolfs at times, in spring wood peckers used the metal roofs to make a noise that beats any alarm clock, wildlife was not so wild after all, if you like to hear more, contact me,

I think you misunderstood the whole point of the video. Of course a healthy respect for bears is mandatory whether you're hiking among them or watching them from a roadside. This video is intended for people doing basic day-hikes in bear country where even benign bear encounters themselves are extremely rare. These are all tips that both the forest service and the national park service both highly recommend. And you're right, saying "hey bear" doesn't scare away a bear, but it does alert them to your presence before you're too close, thus avoiding a surprise encounter. As a result, the whole point of this video was to inform people not accustomed to day-hiking in bear country that they don't need to be worried about every bend in the trail or shadow behind a tree, thus hiking in complete fear, as you recommend. Similarly, while neither of us really know what Native Americans were actually thinking 400 years ago, it's a safe bet that they had a healthy fear of certain animals when they found themselves in close proximity, but it's highly unlikely that they lived their entire existence in a perpetual state of fear and anxiety simply because grizzlies might have been in the area. You say I'm stupid for thinking otherwise, but given how rarely I see bears while I'm hiking, whether in Grand Teton or Yellowstone's backcountry, and given that statistics on unfortunate encounters are remarkably low, to me it seems like a waste of a day out to hike mile after mile in a state of fear, when the whole point of hiking is to feel the opposite. However, if that's what you prefer, that's totally up to you, but to call someone stupid for enjoying their hike, while simply assuming that they don't respect the animal they've spent over a decade studying, photographing, reading about, and observing is pretty low.

Hahaha! Awesome

good job, chuck norris!

Exactly!

You bet! Glad you found it helpful!

My pleasure and thank you for the comment!

Bears don't sneak, they charge, sometimes as much as a mile away.

No, now you are just making things up. A bear sneaking? 😂

@@extramile734 There are many people eaten by grizzlies that believed as you do. The differences between a bluff charge and a predator's ambush. I'm guessing you don't hike in bear country much.

I'm telling you, I've had one sneaking around me and my son. We walked probably a half mile on a fire road and never knew it was with us. The only thing was a weird feeling of something watching us. Suddenly it charged away from us and that's when we noticed it. It was only a few feet away!

They eat you alive usually.

My pleasure! Glad you enjoyed it

Excellent advice! Thank you for commenting!

@@FreeRoamingHiker Deeply humbled by the fact and way you responded to me man. Thank you for releasing such a concise video, any dangerous animal deserves and ultimately demands our respect. It's best to love wild animals from a distance for both their and our safety

@@theflyingcrud Absolutely agree with you. Bears, like all wildlife, deserve an incredible amount of respect.

@@FreeRoamingHiker could not agree more. Would you be interested in doing a zoom call dialog at some point? I know that is completely out of the blue, but it could be interesting. I grew up in the backwoods of the Appalachian mountains so I may have something to share. Either way, I really appreciate your approach to your videos. All the best man

@@theflyingcrud Didn't mean to leave you hanging! I was actually trying to figure out a good time but I'm having a pretty busy winter - hence the lack of new videos lately - so I haven't been able to come up with a good time yet. I would be interested though! Just a matter of finding the right time.

see statistics, bears have a lot of catching up to do if compared to people killing, harming other people, bears where living around my yard, i could say, they behaved better then most people do this days,

Also, bears kill 1-2 humans every year.

Yikes! That happens with wind blowing the wrong way too. Glad you made it out safe!

My pleasure and thank you for the kind words! If you're looking for a 3 day backpacking trip I'd highly recommend the Teton Crest Trail. It's usually free of snow and peaking with wildflowers around early August. Hopefully that coincides with your visit, but if not let me know and I can recommend a backup.

Very well said! Thank you for the comment!

life is taking risks, if its not that bear, you might find a snake crossing your path, happened to me and was almost on my feet, i think in the cities you have more danger then we do out in the country, statistics prove this, i do avoid the back country with extreme droughts, forest fires, and may be hungry bears, other then that, i am glad i did see what i did, i avoid cities, full of cars, and yet another mac D ? no thanks

Good idea! I can certainly work one up. Thank you for commenting!

I discovered and tracked a female mountain lion in SW Michigan back in 2018.My first interaction came just minutes after finding her paw prints on the beach. As we headed back to the parking lot she spotted one of my dogs (who happens to resemble a small deer so closely I've had several deer mistake him) and jumped off her perch and started stalking him. I couldn't believe it was the mountain lion and began to enter the woods to see if I could scare up a deer. The mountain lion went silent but my dogs dug their feet in and wouldn't go any further. We were probably no more than 20-30 feet from her but she halted her stalk after seeing me and my other dog. A case of mistaken identity I believe. Very long story short, I had 7 interactions with her over the next 5 months as a result of trying to verify her presence to our DNR with a photo (I wanted them to put up warning signs in the park and do some research on her - they wouldn't even though one of their rangers had a close encounter that I verified an hour later - she was sunning herself on a sand dune about 140 yards off the beach). I only got really close to her twice after the initial encounter only because I did not recognize the location as a den site at first. In the first case she blasted up the side of ravine perpendicular to me, I think to lead me away from her kit. In the second case, she just gave me a low growl. After that I made sure I stayed at least 50 yards away from where I thought she might be. We never had a problem. In fact, she and her kit once followed me down a trail through a meadow in broad daylight with clearly no intention of harming me. They are so skittish about humans they'll just run away and hide unless they are sick, hurt or too old to hunt (which is why I wanted our DNR to do research on her - this park gets 10-20,000 visitors a year, none of whom are aware that mountain lions might be there). Also, avoid the wilderness at dusk and dawn alone. That's when they usually hunt. Do that and you'll never have a problem.

That all sounds pretty infuriating! Some people shouldn't even be allowed around bears or any wildlife.

that sounds like a train when they to that, seen it, wow

Thank you for all the kind words and the helpful additions!

more places with bears, and they visit towns at times too, for many years i did just fine,

If only Treadwell had followed these precautions, alas.

Well there's some irony for you! While we're on the subject through, Timothy Treadwell did successfully live with bears for a good 14-15 seasons. What he did wrong was stay longer that last season than he usually did. Unfortunately, the salmon run was low that year which made the bears extra competitive. This put him in a losing situation.

@FreeRoamingHiker He did. But every year that passed, he got more and more complacent. The fact that he knowingly stayed longer then he should have. Camped on the bear trail, and saw a bunch of new bears he hasn't seen before, showed that he stopped respecting the bears and taking them seriously. If he stayed smart, he would have left already. But sadly, he got too comfortable and complacent and stopped respecting the risks he was taking...and in the end, he lost his life. What's worse is he took the life of his gf along with him.

@@GrumpyKay Definitely a great point not to get complacent around bears. No matter how much I see them on the trails here, I always have a healthy respect for them am always cautious. Complacency is not a good thing to have going around any bears, no matter how familiar you are with them.

Exactly what a normal wild bear does. I've had the same experience.

Sounds like an incredible experience regardless! And at least you were present enough to remember so many great details. But i get it - I'd probably be kicking myself too! 😅

Thank you!

Well said!

I was stalked by a predatory black bear in the GSMNP back in 2015. I had beached my boat at the mouth of Hazel Creek on Lake Fontana. So I start fishing up the creek and had gone about 1-1.5 mile up the creek when the hair on the back of my neck stood up and I spot a bear up in the woods out of the corner of my eye. I didn’t try to scare the bear off, I didn’t look up at him, I got my pistol ready in my hand and started walking normally back down the creek to my boat. That bear paralleled me from about 30-50 yards up in the timber, depending on the terrain, ALL the way to my boat. He was matching my pace step for step. I knew the bear might charge down the bank at me at any second. My legs were twitching to run but I grew up on a horse farm and had a lot of conditioning from an early age to remain calm around animals. I’ve thought about this a great deal and believe that conditioning is the reason I was able to will myself to remain calm. I tried to concentrate on how every step was getting me closer to my boat and not the bear. It was the longest damn walk of my life! When I finally got to my boat and climbed in, I let it drift out into the channel and just sat there quietly having an aneurysm from all the adrenaline pumping through me.

@@wasidanatsali6374 horses can be bad, all animals can smell when your afraid, smell what mood your in as well, trying to milk cows in a hurry will result in chaos/disaster, pretend you have a sea of time and its a peace of cake, but did get attacked by the bull one day, the last cow i picked up happened to be in heat, how fast i was pinned by a very mad bull against the wall, unbelievable, luck had it i am tall and he pinned me good but on upper legs, NOT to get into panic is a must....only one escape...30 feet away was a high fence, a 6 ft high fence....i screamed in his ear and yes, did get loose....i have no idea how i get so fast over that fence dont even remember,....working with bigger animals is a risk ? but so worth it, yes, it teaches us to stay calm no mater what

That would certainly be effective, but only if it's used in emergency situations. It also might not buy you as much time as bear spray, but could still be an effective enough alternative.

Good point thanks

May I ask why you are more afraid of moose than bear? Thanks

You accurately noted "I worked Teton National Park . . . and Kodiak Island Alaska," but conveniently omitted "as a male prostitute. "

Have you ever seen a moose close up? They are terrifying killing machines that are not scared of anything

But you have to admit that the bears don't see you as prey, or attacks would be happening constantly.

had a small farm in interior BC, 3 moose did visit my hay stack every morning, all winter long, i did pitch hay while they eat, was often close enough i could touch them, well, they are big and not pets....at first they reluctantly moved when i came around but soon no more, one summer i did have 3 mule dear grazing with the cows, soon they did loose their fear for me, soon they ignored me totally, the next summer a mountain lion moved in my area, no more dear, never did see it but the cows did not want to move out of the barn in the eve, at times, some nights the weird screaming sure did wake me up so it must have been close, in all those years i had only one problem bear, it stole a calf, took off with it, fish and wildlife came out to shoot that bear, once a bear hunt lifestock they will do it again,

Yes, except for Smokie the Bear. Although you should first ask for permission.

It's true though.. you never know where an animal may pop up & I've came across many bears in areas they "weren't supposed" to be.. especially if they're hungry & trying to gain their weight for winter..

why ? i had them living near the house, one was like royality, sunbathing at times on the driveway, when i wanted to drive out she moved reluctantly, she loved watching me work, i did camp out lots, never had a problem, not even in Alaska, i rather dont camp out in very dry periods, risk of forest fire and bears can become hungry due to failed berry crops ?

@@ertsixbarf you just happened to get lucky ! Some bears don't care about people at all as long as they're not starving & know the person isn't a threat to them. We have black bears that will camp out on my property with their babies because they know they're safe here, as long as they behave lol. But, if I were to bring my dogs for a walk around the mountain and happened to get too close, mama would absolutely attack us without hesitation. Where I am, the most dangerous time is mid-late fall to beginning of winter when they're in hyperphagia & looking for anything they can eat.

@@mikefrost1312 yes, i do realize when they get to my place they kind of know me already, like the birds nesting around the barn, they know me, but yes, in other locations i am a stranger, i could so far avoid being to close,

Exactly! It's incredible how misunderstood they are.

Unfortunately those are cases where the bears were likely fed, and thus, not exhibiting their normal wild behavior anymore. In those cases use whatever means necessary to get out of the house safely and call the authorities. If they're in the same area, find out how they're getting human food, causing them to seek out more, and put an end to it, whether through legislation or getting businesses to cooperate.

i dont think mama could enter through the dog door, it must have been the cubs, animals will flee the way they came, so best is, walk around the house, leaving the place where they came in through wide open, start bounching on the windows, screaming with a low voice, a horn will help, noise they hate, they will leave in a hurry, climb the first tree they find, if that is close to the house, stand your ground, keep a 20 ft away from that tree and continue making as much noise as you can, till they get down and move away, they will most likely not return, this works for black bears, never had them inside but i dont want them on my porch so i did chase them off with lots of noise, once you start out, continue, dont show fear, they know they where on my territory so that helps, never ever feed them, get to friendly, had one bear living on the place, never was a nuisance, but yes, mating time, that s when others show up, also it helps to pie outside at times, specially around the chicken coop, i only lost a few chickens over the years, had plenty of wildlife around, incl a mountain lion, never saw but some nights that screaming sure did wake me up, that, and other times wolfs crying, then again coyotes, pfff, they say the woods are quiet ? woodpeckers, using the metal barn roofs by sunrise, an alarm clock you cant turn off, still, never want to live in a city

As you saw in the video, I stress having plenty of respect for bears, and list plenty of ways to act around them so that you don't put yourself in unfortunate situations with them. Everyone should have a healthy fear of apex predators, but that fear shouldn't overwhelm your entire hike, which is the point you saw me make.

@@FreeRoamingHiker this sort of people people should not visit the woods, the bears loved the last tourists please send more....

Sadly, it is a thing. I'm horrified it actually has to be said as well.

Idiots literally set their children on wild bears backs in national parks to take photos

Giving bears the respect they deserve and being aware of your surroundings are actually the best ways to avoid unfortunate encounters with bears. Sorry you disagree with my advice, but you really should reconsider. Both the park service and forest service would agree.

Someone that never goes to bear country

You're something of an obnoxious jerk, aren't you?

Bear maulings, and especially killings are incredibly rare. It's very unfortunate and sad when it happens, but the odds of it happening are ridiculously low, and there are many factors that might contribute to that outcome. Without being at the event itself, it's hard to say what exactly went wrong, but he would have had to have done something you're not supposed to do around a bear. So no, I'm not trying to get people killed, I'm trying to educate them on how to behave around a bear. I hope that at least came through when you watched the video. Also consider that most KZfaq videos like that are designed to simply scare and shock you.

When hiking/backpacking in bear country, you don't need to "fear" bears, you need to respect them, be informed on their behavior, and be aware of your surroundings. Also proper camp procedures, ie, attractant storage and camp cleanliness.

@@timriggs8651 Excellent advice and great points that I forgot to mention! Thank you for posting!

Stay in Philadelphia then, why don’t you.

@@trishbirchard1270 I don't live in Philadelphia dummy

From a completely hypothetical perspective, a flamethrower probably would be effective, but carrying one on a day-hike you've got two challenges: carrying one practically with all your other gear; and not starting a forest fire. So from a realistic practical standpoint, it's not worth bringing, but from a purely hypothetical standpoint, it would probably deter a bear.

@@FreeRoamingHiker Thanks for your reply and Merry Christmas!

I'm sure it would work great, if you manage to haul a flamethrower into bear country for some odd reason. I think a high caliber revolver is a better bet.

@@imaginedmountains2311 Thanks for your reply! I wonder how many people holding torches it would take to fend off a bear. Does fire freak out a bear? Does a bear fear fire enough to run away?

In theory bears are afraid of fire but not always. I'm a hunting guide and at our remote camp we've had bears stroll right through camp with a fire blazing and all the woodstoves burning. We even had a little black bear break into the cook tent one evening and burn both its front paws on the woodstove. We heard it bawling its head off running away, then saw the muddy paw prints on stove. Pretty funny in hindsight but the point is bears do whatever they want.

city people with guns ? its to often way to often people are the ones misbehaving, have seen it all, people feeding bears, leaving garbage, walking up to bears and their cubs for selfies, to name just a few things....no wonder some do get attacked,

Then you miss some pretty incredible hikes! But definitely a valid point.

@@FreeRoamingHiker Jes ' don't wanna end up as bear scat...😁