Yellowstone Lesson: What to Do If You Encounter a Bear

Video showing tourists at Yellowstone National Park running away from a mother bear and her three cubs provides a lesson on what not to do when you encounter bears, suggests information provided by Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks (MFWP) and the National Park Service.

The tourists appear to have gotten too close to the bears, with some putting priority on photographing the bears as opposed to their own and the bears’ safety.

FWP videographer Winston Greely, standing at a safer distance near the North Entrance to Yellowstone close to Gardiner, Montana, captured the footage, which has since gone viral on the net:

The post from the MFWP via social media included this information: “It (the video) serves as a reminder that wildlife can be unpredictable. For your safety and theirs, respect wildlife and give them room to roam. View and photograph from established observation areas. Stay a safe distance to reduce stress on wildlife. Luckily, no one was hurt and these bears made it safely back to the forest.”

Clearly the individuals on the left with photography equipment were not situated at “established observation areas.”

The visitors were lucky that the three cubs were about 13 months old. Since they were older, the mother was not as protective as she might have been had the cubs been younger. As it stands, the bears look to be more scared, annoyed and confused than anything.

The National Park Service instructs that if you see a bear in a developed area, “keep your distance (at least 50 yards, or about the distance four shuttle buses parked end to end would take up). If you get closer, you will be helping the bear become used to being around people.”

That wasn’t so easy for the tourists in the video, as the bears were going in the same direction that they were.

Nevertheless, MFWP advises that park visitors should do the following:

• Stay calm

• Immediately pick up small children and stay in a group (the people in the recent incident broke off into separate groups)

• Slowly back away, if possible

• Do not run

Not running (also advised for encounters with aggressive dogs) is tough for most people, given that our “fight or flight” fear system kicks in. The MFWP, however, explains that “running may trigger a natural predator-prey attack response” from the bear.

Read more at Discovery News