Bear’s Yellowstone National Park Romp Scares Tourists [Video]

A bear’s Yellowstone National Park romp was caught on video, and the near bear attack definitely should have had some tourists scared out of their wits. Oddly enough, the tourists were treating the wild animals like Yogi bear, and did not seem to realize the danger.

In a related report by the Inquisitr, when a bear showed up at an Alaskan baseball game the whole incident was caught on video.

One thing is very obvious about the video about the bear. Yellowstone visitors don’t seem to understand that semi-calmly walking down the street to walk next to them is not a good idea. As for the black bears, they started to charge when reaching the end of the bridge. People still refused to leave them alone, instead stopping to take pictures and videos of the incident.

Bob Gibson, the communication and education program manager for Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks, told NBC News that the tourists in the video are “absolutely in danger” despite their calm appearance, and if circumstances had been slightly different a bear attack could have occurred.

“Black bears are usually shy of people,” he warns. “But you put them with their cubs and they get really protective. You never want to be between a bear and its cub. Had they been the young of the bear and 10 days old, the mom would have been all over the tourists.”

In the past, the Inquisitr published an article on how to survive a Florida bear attack if you’re unlucky enough to be confronted:

“If you do walk at night make sure to have a flashlight, and if you’re especially worried, stores like Walmart sell bear spray and noise makers. Also, take a buddy along on your night walks.

And this ‘buddy’ shouldn’t just be your dogs. Bears consider them mortal enemies, and they will likely defend themselves against aggressive canines, which will just escalate the situation.

Now if you happen to spot a bear from afar, move away quickly. If you’re spotted and it goes up on hind legs, this isn’t necessarily an aggressive posture. Stand your ground and speak to it in a firm voice. Start to back off slowly, and if it advances, shout at it, raise your arms, and make yourself appear formidable even though you’re quivering in your boots.

But don’t play dead! The only time that strategy is recommended is if a startled bear has already pounced on you. In that case, if you play dead the bear ‘might’ consider the threat to be gone and run away. But if the bear continues to attack the only option is to fight back. Running away isn’t really an option since it would consider you prey.”

Fortunately, the bear’s Yellowstone romp never got violent, but it is always useful to be prepared. According to Yellowstone’s web site, injuries reported from black bear attacks have gone from “an average of 45 per year during the 1930s–1960s to approximately one injury every five years since 1980.”

[Image via YouTube]