Hitting the hiking trails is a great way for families to spend some time together and make memories that will last a lifetime. In the case of the family in today's video, it's not likely any of them are going to forget their encounter with a black bear any time soon. In this footage taken in British Columbia, a family was on their way back to the parking area when they come across a black bear blocking their path. The curious bruin keeps ambling in their direction. There's only one thing for the family to do, and that's retreat down the trail the way they came. They stop momentarily a few times while the man waves his arms and tries to make noise to scare the animal away.
At one point in the video, one of the kids asks when it's time to play dead. Fortunately, it never comes to that. KTU News reports the bruin eventually quit following the family and wandered back into the woods where it belonged.
It's likely this bear was curious more than anything else. It likely wasn't going to try and attack multiple people at once. Some of the only recorded cases of that happening have been scenarios where a sow had cubs nearby that she was defending. According to 2KUTV News, Brighton Peachey told reporters the bear followed the family of five for roughly 20 minutes and over half a mile. Fortunately, the bear never showed any aggression towards them. In the end, the way this scenario played out was probably ideal. The family got a scare, but no one, including the bruin was hurt in the encounter.
"I knew we just had to stay calm, and I had to keep reminding my kids like stay calm, don't run that will just like spook the bear and make it worse," Brighton told reporters.
We should mention that research now shows that playing dead as the child wished to do is likely not the best response to an attack unless it's a mother grizzly who feels her cubs are threatened. What the family did in this video was likely the best course of action for this scenario. Encounters with bears can happen any time you step into bear country. It's fine to take your family in the wilderness, just make sure you're bear aware and prepared to deal with the possibility of crossing paths with one of these animals when you do it.
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