When people see a bear on their property, their first response usually is to turn tail and head in the opposite direction. But one man decided to confront his bear visitor head-on. The Canadian man discovered a black bear in his backyard and ran straight for it, yelling, "Get outta here, bear!" The video of the encounter is posted to Inside Edition's YouTube page, showing the whole thing. The man doesn't just stop at yelling at the bear, though. Instead, he continues to chase after it, growling until it leaves. Fortunately, it was a black bear and not a more ferocious variety.
Of course, most wildlife officials advise homeowners to leave an animal be and allow it to leave on its own accord, as long as it is not threatening. But however ill-advised this interaction might have been, viewers loved seeing the video. One writes, "The crazy thing is it's more unusual to see an angry Canadian than a black bear in Canada." Another points out that the man has guts. Others felt for the poor bear—which, as one viewer put it, probably just wanted "some of that sweet maple syrup."
However, one commenter from Alaska added some perspective to the video: "As an Alaskan, I find it funny that people think it takes big cojones to chase a black bear, I've done it a few times and as long as you put on a tough act you can intimidate them pretty easily. However, the best course of action if you ever come across a black bear is to either back away slowly and/or raise your arms and act scary and yell at it, and if it does attack, you fight back because, unlike a brown bear who usually attacks to bully you, a black bear attacks usually trying to kill you. And most importantly, NEVER run away from a predator, whether it's a bear or wolf or cat, chasing only reinforces that you're helpless prey, and they will almost always outrun you."
The Alaskan's advice continues: "This also includes dogs; even if the dog is running at you, it's best to hold your ground, and usually, this will intimidate the dog into stopping so it can assess the situation, from that point on just try to back away slowly and if it does attack punch it in the nose and try to pin it down and keep it pinned until it either stops wriggling or an owner gets it."
