Jonathan Mendelsohn
One major con of hiking is the chance of encountering a bear, which is exactly what happened to this particular group of hikers.
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In the approximately 20-second viral video posted by Bodybuilding Priest that has currently garnered close to 17 million views, a group of hikers who appear to be a family are seen staring down a grizzly bear that is approaching their path. The hikers cheer on the bear as it comes closer, and one woman starts to wave her hiking pole at the animal.
As the group continues to yell and cheer at the bear, one hiker can be heard shouting “back away slowly.” It is not clear if she is speaking to her fellow hikers or the bear, but if it’s the latter, her yells are futile.
Bear on The Loose
The same hiker then exclaims expletives as the bear comes closer and closer to the group. When the one hiker repeats her same statement about backing away, the person behind the camera says “Oh, he doesn’t care,” before the video ends. At least one of the hikers is aware that animals cannot converse with humans.
Grizzly bears are huge animals and one of the most deadly species of bear known to man. Adult grizzly bears can grow to be 7 feet tall and 600 pounds. Grizzly bears have an extremely deadly bite, with a force of over 1,200 pounds per square inch. Grizzly bears usually do not wish to attack humans, but will if they feel threatened or if they believe their cubs are in danger.
The way this particular grizzly bear sized up this group of hikers seems as though it saw them as animals that could make great prey. The identity of the hikers seems to be currently unknown, but assuming they got away in one piece from this ordeal, they should consider themselves very lucky.
