Surprising Black Bear Encounter Caught on Security Camera
A backyard stroll quickly turned into a heart-pounding scenario for one North Carolina man. Instagrammer James W. Pellerin, who goes by the handle @jamesw.pellerin, was walking across his patio when he was startled by a surprise guest.
The visitor in question was a massive black bear that seemed just as surprised to see Pellerin walking by, prompting a high-stakes reaction from both of them. Pellerin fled from the bear as it lunged out of some bushes, chasing the man onto part of the elevated portion of his patio.
Fortunately, something spooked the bear—in his haste to get away, Pellerin rattled what appeared to be a ceramic wood-burning fireplace, making quite a bit of noise—and the bear quickly changed direction.
“This is why you don’t let your guard down on the patio in western North Carolina,” Pellerin captioned the video, which quickly went viral. Fortunately, it seems like both the man and the bear made it out of this encounter unharmed, even if one of them probably needed a few minutes to get their heart to stop pounding afterward.
The Bear Was Partially Hidden by Some Bushes
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Pellerin was walking toward the back side of his patio when something moved off to the left of the screen. It seemed like both Pellerin and the bear saw each other at the same time, and the bear roared out of the bushes as the man ran for cover.
In his rush to get away from the bear, Pellerin crashed into a clay chimenea, creating quite a ruckus. This appeared to startle the bear, and it ran a few feet away. The bear stayed in the corner of the screen for a moment, chuffing at the man while appearing to look around. Pellerin, meanwhile, stood his ground while calmly saying, “It’s okay, buddy,” over and over to the bear.
It Was Later Revealed That the Bear Had a Good Reason for Being Upset
The comments quickly filled up with those who couldn’t believe Pellerin’s luck. “You were almost Winnie’s lunch,” one person wrote.
Another noted that the fireplace may have been the thing that saved the homeowner, since the noise he made with it appeared to drive the bear away. “Whew. Purposeful or not, the rattling of the chiminea cap seemed to really help,” they wrote.
However, Pellerin himself came into the comments later to explain why the bear acted the way it did after someone suggested getting bear spray. “Probably will get some spray,” he responded to the commenter. “Never had problems in the past. This mama bear had a cub at the top of my pond; that is why she reacted the way she did.”
Black Bears Aren’t As Aggressive as Other Bears
According to the North American Bear Center, it’s actually grizzly bears who tend to become aggressive when their cubs are around. The website says that only three of the 61 black bear killings since 1900 have involved a mother black bear with her cubs, and that the deaths didn’t appear to be related to defending cubs. The organization says that black bears are more likely to flee, since they live in areas with trees, which the cubs can climb when they are threatened.
However, brown bears and grizzly bears are a different story, according to the organization. It says that 70 percent of 100 killings were mama bears defending their cubs. But that doesn’t mean people should let their guard down around black bears.
