Here is a little fact about bears. When you meet one while you’re just strolling in the forest, there is honestly nothing you can do. Some may tell you to just book-it out of there; some say that walking backwards slowly is a way better idea. There are those who tell you to climb a tree, while others would rather play dead on the ground. Bears are amazing creatures; they can run faster than any normal human, climb any tree and survive in very harsh environments. Many professionals have been studying these amazing creatures and they still can’t figure out a rule that you could apply to all bears. There are always arguments and discussions going on. You may think that keeping calm is always helpful, but I know a guy who survived a bear attack just by screaming like a girl and running in circles. Ha, I guess the bear thought he was a stupid overgrown chicken or something.
I encountered a bear too once. It was in my youth years, around grade 10. I was on a retreat with my church and it just happened to be at a camp site, close to where a huge mystical bear had been seen a few days before. They called it the “legendary bear”. It had been seen by a few of the Asian campers 25days ago, and of course one of them had tried to take a picture. I heard the flash went off and the bear was already on top of them the next second. With only some broken bones, the all the tourists went home safely with a rather interesting story to tell. Being me, the very curious and fearless kid, I had to go look for this so called “legendary bear”. During my 3hour free time, I told my friends I was just going for a walk, and I took off. I didn’t have a plan or anything, the only thing that was going through my head, was that I had to see this bear. I wondered aimlessly around, I was off the path of course but I knew my way back, my campsite was just somewhere south. If I had a compass, that information would have been really helpful. I was 83 minutes into the forest and I had seen about 900 coniferous trees and maybe 700 deciduous trees. I passed by 27 deer families and 4 groups of mountain goats. I am sure I heard about 3 coyotes but I maybe have mistaken them for wolverines. So far, there were no signs of any bear. I was not a guy to give up so easily, but I was getting way too far from the camp. I didn’t want to be late for our campsite dinner, because if we did miss it, there was no food till snack time, and also because it was simply rude. So I took a 180 degree turn but at exactly 140 degree I saw it. The “legendary bear” was picking a few berries off a bush. At first sight I knew it was the one. There was no way an ordinary bear could have been that size. I was 178cm tall back then and this bear on all fours was at least one and a quarter of my height. There was no way I could out run this bear; I probably couldn’t even climb a tree for the bear could easy take it down. I was simply just stunned staring at this creature. I know it is rude to watch someone eat but I’m sure there is an exception for wild animals. I stood