We were hiking Sugarbush Mountain in Vermont on Saturday, during the 4th of July long weekend. We had veered off the most popular hike route by accident and were by ourselves. We were falsely comforted that the trails looked familiar since we ski them during the winters.
Suddenly we spotted a bear cub on a tree near us (in the photos attached, the photo that is not clear is the one we took. The other, is a good facsimile of what we saw).
We were rattled with the thought that 'mama bear' might be close by!
My wife, Mini asked me, 'so what are supposed to do if the bear shows up?'
I did not have a good answer, other than have a blank mind and also regret putting my family in a potentially precarious situation.
Then unbelievably, Mini went, 'let me Google that' and proceeded to explain, 'we should all stand in a group, stand our ground and collectively make noise and waves sticks at the bear'
I was thankful that she was walking away from the said bear cub, as she googled for advice!
Suddenly we spotted a bear cub on a tree near us (in the photos attached, the photo that is not clear is the one we took. The other, is a good facsimile of what we saw).
We were rattled with the thought that 'mama bear' might be close by!
My wife, Mini asked me, 'so what are supposed to do if the bear shows up?'
I did not have a good answer, other than have a blank mind and also regret putting my family in a potentially precarious situation.
Then unbelievably, Mini went, 'let me Google that' and proceeded to explain, 'we should all stand in a group, stand our ground and collectively make noise and waves sticks at the bear'
I was thankful that she was walking away from the said bear cub, as she googled for advice!
25 comments:
I've see a lot of such stories lately. It seems to be due to a combination
of human encroachment on their habitats and the lack of 'culling'....
Will be interesting to see how this plays out as we balance our interests...
expansion and preservation.
Nature and technology - they do mix after all!
Amazing! Good you had reception!
That's a crazy story! Great pix! We encountered Mama Bear and 3 cubs in Yosemite and another person passed by them without knowing it!
Great story! Glad everyone is safe!
I would have exactly done the same thing! LOL!
Oh wow! Beautiful cub! I would have run for my life! LOL!
Wow - that is scary and awesome! I would have done the same thing!
Wow that is beautiful. I am glad Mama bear kept her distance! There was a bear in our dumpster - we got the shock of our lives! We need to be mindful of their stomping grounds!!
Great story .... you have a way with prose ....!
Wow - looks like there are bears all over the place this summer!
You only need to run faster than Mini ...!
Wow that was very adventurous, Surya. Good that Mini had the presence of mind to look up the options.
Great pics!
What an experience! We are dealing with not so friendly alligators in Hilton Head!
Great adventure ! I assume that the 'mama bear' was nearby, Googling to find out what to do next when you encounter a family taking pictures !
Sri krishnan
Interesting story. I would have put "bare necessities..." from Jungle book...! 😕
Good thing that she had internet service!
My friend's family lives in Sparta, NJ and they have quite a bear population. His dog is often chasing bears! Praise their courage, rue their arrogance!
That wasn’t after all a Karadi Kathai! Venturesome!
I read this with interest. We have a home in Kothagiri (just below Ooty) in the wilderness and the forests are not far away. We have a constant bear threat (although we haven’t sighted any). The house opposite ours had a bear nesting in it. A few kilometres away, a bear mauled and killed a husband and wife. Later the forest rangers shot the bear dead. A tiger has been spotted on our campus and one, a little far away and a man-eater, was killed by forest rangers again. We have visitations by the massive gaur (bison) which trample on our garden and come in herds of 50-70. I agree with one of the comments on our site: We have perhaps taken away their homes!
hat is hilarious!! our lives are forever changed...
I love it! I am glad you survived your encounter with the bear.
What a coincidence. Last Sunday when I was about to go to the gym, I came across a fully grown bear. He went away into the woods. They are in general harmless unless they feel threatened.
What a story, so good that you are safe to tell it and show the cute pics! What would you have done without google?
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