In a heart-stopping video shared by Outdoor Life, watch as an angry bear lunges at two dirt bikers and attacks one of their vehicles. It’s the stuff of absolute nightmares for anyone who adventures in the woods, but don’t worry, you can exhale—both riders appear to escape unscathed.
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The two riders evidently surprised a bear that was lounging in its den, as it appeared to come out of the ground. One rider springs backwards as the bear jumps onto the bike, desperate to get out of the way. The other, who caught the whole encounter on a helmet-mounted camera, revs the engine on their dirt bike to try to scare the bear away.
Fortunately, it works. As quickly as the bear appears, it retreats and sprints off into the woods, leaving the riders to contemplate their luck and their next move.
If you happen to encounter a bear in the wild, it’s generally best to give the animal as much space as possible and slowly back away, as calmly as you can, without running. Experts say you should talk to the bear but not scream at it, which it could see as a sign of aggression. If you’re hiking or camping in bear country, you should always be equipped with bear spray and tools to keep your food safe and out of reach of bears and other critters. When bears get too comfortable stealing food from humans and wandering into campsites, they often end up getting euthanized to minimize threats to people. That’s where the old adage, “a fed bear is a dead bear,” comes from.
Remember that bear spray is serious stuff and can cause long-term or permanent damage to bears and other animals, so only use it on aggressive bears in a real emergency. And whatever you do, don’t sacrifice a slower hiking buddy to give yourself more time to get away. That’s just—not cool.
Some of us don’t like the loud sounds of dirt bikes in our quiet forests.