Huge black bear stalks group of friends along hiking trail
- last year
A group of hikers filmed the moment a huge black bear stalked them - for three quarters of a mile.
Geoffrey Zhou, 21, was hiking with four friends along the Howe Sound Crest trail, in Vancouver, Canada, when they saw the bear emerge from the mist.
The engineering student at the University of British Columbia, said: "We first noticed the bear when we caught a glimpse of a dark shadow emerging from the fog.
"It stayed at a constant pace, so we hiked back at a slightly faster pace as to not alarm it while maintaining distance."
The bear slowly followed the group for close to half an hour; forcing them to hike a kilometre up the trail backwards, until they were able to hide behind a bush.
Geoffrey added: "After around a kilometre we were able to find a part of the trail which had a gradual slope up the mountain on the side.
"I directed my friends to climb up and crouch down behind the shrubs. They were shocked and wanted to run.
"After a few minutes of waiting, the bear emerged along the trail and was likely under 15 feet away from me as it passed by."
Thankfully, Geoffrey had prior wilderness training and knew what to do in this situation.
He said: "As we were hiding behind the shrubs, I informed my friends to take off their packs in the event that it charged up at us.
"I would empty the bear spray on it, and we would make a run for it, possibly throwing our packs at it to create some distance.
"My first instinct was to immediately pull out my bear spray and alert my friends to stay behind me and start slowly walking backward along the trail without making any sudden movements."
Geoffrey Zhou, 21, was hiking with four friends along the Howe Sound Crest trail, in Vancouver, Canada, when they saw the bear emerge from the mist.
The engineering student at the University of British Columbia, said: "We first noticed the bear when we caught a glimpse of a dark shadow emerging from the fog.
"It stayed at a constant pace, so we hiked back at a slightly faster pace as to not alarm it while maintaining distance."
The bear slowly followed the group for close to half an hour; forcing them to hike a kilometre up the trail backwards, until they were able to hide behind a bush.
Geoffrey added: "After around a kilometre we were able to find a part of the trail which had a gradual slope up the mountain on the side.
"I directed my friends to climb up and crouch down behind the shrubs. They were shocked and wanted to run.
"After a few minutes of waiting, the bear emerged along the trail and was likely under 15 feet away from me as it passed by."
Thankfully, Geoffrey had prior wilderness training and knew what to do in this situation.
He said: "As we were hiding behind the shrubs, I informed my friends to take off their packs in the event that it charged up at us.
"I would empty the bear spray on it, and we would make a run for it, possibly throwing our packs at it to create some distance.
"My first instinct was to immediately pull out my bear spray and alert my friends to stay behind me and start slowly walking backward along the trail without making any sudden movements."