This is definitely a WOW video- Teen Pushes Bear Off Backyard Wall While Defending Family Dogs

[TimeFlies]

I live and work in black bear county, but we also have browns, and some grizzly.
If I don't see 100 bears a year, its a slow year, including regularly in my yard.
I'm 6'3" tall, and weigh about 240 lbs, more muscular than the average man is. Yet I've walked towards a black bear yelling at it, as it tore apart my grandmother's bird feeder, and it didn't run away, instead it kept ripping apart the bird feeder I had made. When I got to within 20' it stopped ripping it apart and stared at me. We were so close now, I wasn't sure what to do. It finally turned and walked away thank God.
Not 10 kms from where I live, a woman out walking her dog this summer was attacked by a black bear.
Saying black bears don't fight, but run away, is doing a disservice to people. It could make people overly brave, thinking that the bears are chicken of humans, and will run away from them always. Right until they rip someone apart that is. All bears have the potential to be deadly to dogs, humans, and other wildlife.
I know that I would risk my life to save my dog, to me she is family. But I am aware that it's also stupid to do so, and bears deserve respect, all bears!

 

[alarmguy]

It is amazing but saw this years ago. The OP video has been circulating that long.

 

[y_p_w]

Good example. The teenager in the original video really isn't dumb like some comments suggest. All animals, including humans, have a fight or flight response. When an animal chooses to fight, regardless of its size or perceived strength, it tells the predator they aren't worth messing with.

I wouldn’t have recommended getting that close to a bear, but confronting it was a reasonable decision. The bear had already clawed at the dogs, but you noted a fight or flight response can happen. Reports of similar incidents are that bears that think they’re cornered may claw, then usually run away. A little distance helps. I don’t know is bear spray is strictly needed, but it would be legal to possess at home and could be used against animals that might attack pets, including coyotes.

Granted, I’ve seen the occasional conditioned bear that found food. They’re kind of hard to budge, but still wary about interactions with humans.

 

[y_p_w]

I live and work in black bear county, but we also have browns, and some grizzly.
If I don't see 100 bears a year, its a slow year, including regularly in my yard.
I'm 6'3" tall, and weigh about 240 lbs, more muscular than the average man is. Yet I've walked towards a black bear yelling at it, as it tore apart my grandmother's bird feeder, and it didn't run away, instead it kept ripping apart the bird feeder I had made. When I got to within 20' it stopped ripping it apart and stared at me. We were so close now, I wasn't sure what to do. It finally turned and walked away thank God.
Not 10 kms from where I live, a woman out walking her dog this summer was attacked by a black bear.
Saying black bears don't fight, but run away, is doing a disservice to people. It could make people overly brave, thinking that the bears are chicken of humans, and will run away from them always. Right until they rip someone apart that is. All bears have the potential to be deadly to dogs, humans, and other wildlife.
I know that I would risk my life to save my dog, to me she is family. But I am aware that it's also stupid to do so, and bears deserve respect, all bears!

There are different populations of American black bears with different learned behaviors. In the Sierra Nevada range there hasn’t been a recorded human death as a result of a black bear, and any kind of attack is exceedingly rare. They have learned how to break into cars though. I’ve heard some referred to as ninja bears or gangster bears.

The population of bears in Southern California aren’t terribly aggressive. There are well over two million people living within the reasonable range of bears in Los Angeles, Ventura, and San Bernardino Counties and bear attacks have been exceedingly rare. They do have the potential to be dangerous. I’d never recommend getting too close to one, just on the basis that a bear’s fear may result in clawing to get away from what’s a stressful situation for the bear. Distance is good. Objects thrown at bears seem to be a good message that they shouldn’t mess with humans. There are several videos circulating of wildlife management people hitting bears and they just whimper and hightail it out a bad situation.



Get out of here bear! Get out of here!

 

[Sumboodie]

Some of the comments are just a bit much... I'd never consider that 'stupid' and would venture to say some on this forum don't have half the sack that person does. Imagine some of you would be far more aggressive if that bear was scratching your fresh ceramic infused paint job or was attacking your oil stash!

They constantly get into our bar oil and hydraulic oil out in the woods on logging jobs.

 

[y_p_w]

They constantly get into our bar oil and hydraulic oil out in the woods on logging jobs.

I’ve heard of bears that managed to score some beer.

I was kind of wondering when I was out backpacking in Yosemite and I came across a work crew and then a single guy watching over their food setup. He was there was a temporary structure with pots everywhere and a stash of food. I’m hoping they had some way to protect the food, but I didn’t get a good look.

But I’ve been drilled over and over to not let bears score food that’s been left out because they get bolder when they’re habituated to thinking human settlements means easy, calorie dense foods. A fishing guide said black bears were something I can’t repeat here, but it was more about how cowardly they typically were around people.

I have a healthy respect for the potential of a black bear to cause injury. It’s like there’s the remote chance that I’m standing on a sidewalk and a car jumps the curb and pins me to a wall. But what are the chances. I don’t live in fear of all the cars driving by me that I’m going to be hit.

I prefer to be informed and learn more about the location population from people who deal with them regularly. I asked on the Olympic Penninsula about bears and food storage, and was told they absolutely avoid people there because there’s a hunting season. In the Sierra it’s do whatever one can to keep them from getting food. Yell at them. Throw stuff at them. Make them feel unwelcome. If they come into a campground, they’re unwelcome visitors. If they come into a yard, let them know they’re not welcome, because most are looking for unsecured garbage.

 

[GON]

On a lighter note,