While you may expect to encounter a black bear while hiking in the great outdoors, most people do not expect to encounter them near their home. Let alone inside of their garage! However, that is exactly what happened to Alex Gold. The Canadian man shared footage of the moment that he unexpectedly encountered a black bear in his garage.
Surprise Run In With A Bear
Credit: Vermont Fish & Wildlife
In the video that Alex posted on Instagram, viewers can see him walking from the front of his home, towards his garage. As he passes in front of the open garage door, the black bear rushes out at him. I am sure this man was not expecting to encounter a black bear in his garage. Alex quickly moves out of the way by shuffling to the side.
Next, he begins clapping and loudly saying "NO, NO." It causes the bear to halt and look directly at Alex, coming face to face with him. Then Alex begins to back away from the bear and move towards the other side of his vehicle. The entire time he maintains eye contact with the bear. The second he broke that eye contact by looking down the bear races at him again.
Alex was able to get on the other side of his vehicle, now the car separates him and the bear that was in his garage. The smart creature begins peering under the gap beneath the car to try and assess Alex's location. Alex is able to get inside of his car and begins honking his horn. In his attempt to scare the bear off, another black bear appears into the frame. His continued honking successfully scares off both black bears.
Black Bear In Garage: An Unexpected Surprise
Screenshot from xandr_bc Instagram
While Alex was not expecting to find a bear in his garage his response to the situation was perfect. In the caption of his video he admits that he has "met bears before but never as close as it was this time." Perhaps having past experience with these animals helped him keep his composure.
Steve Searles from The Bear Whisperer spoke to PEOPLE about what to do if you encounter a bear. He said you should "make a loud noise" and "keep your hands above your head." Hopefully the noise and you appearing larger will scare the creature off. Viewers can see that Alex implemented some of those tactics, and it very may well be what saved his life.
