Hikers recount SCARY grizzly encounter on Alaska trail
Dr. Michelle Lynn Thaller, Tanya Thompson and Tony Cutraro discuss their heart-pounding grizzly bear encounter in Alaska. The hikers, who were at Anan Creek wildlife observatory, detail how they remained calm and followed ranger protocols, talking to the large animal as it passed them on the trail. This close call highlights the importance of wildlife safety.
A woman out on a hike had her life flash before her eyes after turning around and noticing a grizzly bear running toward her and a group of hikers. She does everything you’re not supposed to do in that situation, but she did avoid being attacked by the bear.
“Almost didn’t make it to this birthday… ‘Go on a hike,’ they said. ‘It’ll be fun,’ they said… Life flashed before my eyes….,” she wrote in the caption of the video of her too close for comfort encounter with a grizzly bear in the wild.
Periglacial patterned ground and stone stripes are seen in Glacier National Park, Mont. (UCG/Universal Images Group via Getty Images)
The woman and a group of hikers were walking down a trail at Glacier National Park when all of a sudden a grizzly bear came charging toward them out of the woods.
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The woman who posted the video on Instagram can be seen turning, looking, then running away. She knew she wasn’t supposed to do that when a grizzly is charging at you, but couldn’t help herself.
A grizzly bear approaches a vehicle on the road to Nemrut Crater Lake in Tatvan district of Bitlis, Turkiye, on Aug. 24, 2023. (Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)
Plus, she joked, “I knew I could outrun SOMEONE…! JK! But seriously…. No…I would never!”
She technically did, but to be fair to her, she also warned the others as she ran by about the charging grizzly bear. In the end, she happily reports, “No dumb tourists were harmed.”
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Only after reviewing the footage a few times did she notice that the grizzly wasn’t actually charging at them. Yes, it was in their direction. And yes, that is reason enough to freak out.
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Grizzly bear in Jasper National Park, Canada. (Getty Images/iStockphoto)
But the bear was actually chasing a chipmunk, which you can see if you look for it, she pointed out in the comment section of the clip and in an unedited version of the encounter.
“Still, learned a VERY valuable lesson: I desperately need to work on my flight response,” she admitted in the caption of the unedited video. “10/10 experience. Would NOT recommend.”
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