It’s not often that we actually see a video of a person effectively using bear spray to deter an aggressive bear. I guess that’s a good thing, but I kind of wish that there was more footage. Sorry, not sorry.
The video below shows a photographer using bear spray to successfully deter an approaching black bear that was behaving “oddly”.
The video is a little long so I’ve embedded it to start close to when the photographer actually uses the bear spray. Just start the video from the beginning if you want to see the whole encounter.
This why you should always carry bear spray in bear country!
“Occurred on June 1, 2022 / Waskesiu Lake, Saskatchewan, Canada “I was out photographing a bear from a safe distance when it caught scent and sight of me. Normally, I’m used to black bears running away when they’re aware of a person but this bear was behaving oddly. It came towards me and followed me even after I stood my ground, shouted, and waved my arms at it.
Luckily I had bear spray and prepared myself to use it if the bear charged at me. I slowly and safely started retreating back to my car and after a couple of minutes of it following me, I decided to start filming. The bear continued to follow me and was getting closer.
When I was in a good position with the wind at my back and the bear coming close to me, I sprayed it with the bear spray. Thankfully the bear spray worked as designed and sent the bear running away.”