Other than swimming in the ocean and seeing a shark fin poking out of the water, running into a grizzly bear in the woods may be the most terrifying wildlife encounter nature can throw at you. And the only thing worse than one grizzly bear is two grizzly bears, as a group hiking in Canada’s Banff National Park can now attest.
Hiking guide Phoebe Nicholson, who is originally from Australia but is now based out if Alberta, explained to the CBC that she was leading a guided tour around Consolation Lake Trail when one of her guests heard some nearby rustling in the trees. Before they knew it, two big grizzly bears—likely a momma bear and her adolescent cub—had appeared out from a bush and began to follow them.
Thanks to Nicholson’s training, she was able to calmly continue leading the group, and eventually, they made it to safety.
“The baby one did do a couple of quick runs, which may have been what we call a bluff charge,” she later explained. “But from my training and everything I knew that is a normal thing, and the best thing to do of course is to stay calm.”
“Knowledge-wise, I knew exactly what I should be doing, but it is different to put it into action,” she continued. “We got to the Consolation Lake and we kind of just watched it all, getting our breath back from what had just happened, which was pretty intense”
Afterward, Nicholson said that she gave the group more information about bears and bear spray, and how you should actually use it and carry it around when hiking in a national park. “It was definitely a good learning process for everybody,” she added.
Canadian National Parks estimates that approximately 65 grizzly bears live in Banff National Park. If encountering a bear in the wild, the organization says that you should stay calm, speak to the bear firmly, make yourself appear as big as possible, and back away slowly, as running may trigger a pursuit. You should also never drop your backpack, as it can provide protection in the unlikely event the bear does attack. And of course, that’s why it’s important to always carry bear spray when hiking on remote trails.
Source : Mens Journal
