The video below shows a very tense scene that took place in Glacier National Park, MT earlier this Fall. Here’s the breakdown-

A French tourist was hiking alone when he encountered a grizzly bear approaching him on the trail. He was backing away slowly when three other hikers arrived on the scene.

The Frenchman reportedly forgot his bear spray in the car, but thankfully the other hikers brought theirs. The video picks up as the group is slowly moving away from the bear to give it space.

Check out the short clip followed by the full description:

“On Sept. 10th, 2022, while hiking on the Grinnell Glacier trail in Glacier National Park, Montana, I, my husband, and our daughter encountered a young man who was face-to-face with a large bear. The young man had no bear spray and was hiking alone. We yelled at the bear to try and get him to leave. With no clearing on either side to step off the trail, the bear continued toward us as we slowly backed away to give him room.

Eventually, the bear found a clearing in the brush and went up and around the trail. We immediately cleared the area. The young man was shaken and very thankful that we came along. We learned that he was visiting from France and I asked him if he had bear spray and he said he had left it in the car. We then offered to let him finish the rest of the hike with us, which he did.

In hindsight, we have considered if we should have deployed our bear spray but we were concerned that we might have enraged the bear or accidentally sprayed the young man causing him to stumble or move rapidly, which in turn would have very likely ended in tragedy.

It was a very scary situation but one that we hope will also be used to educate others on the importance of hiking in groups, making noise, and carrying bear spray anytime you are in bear country.”

Let this video serve as a friendly reminder to ALWAYS carry bear spray if you’re hiking in bear country.

On a personal note- I’m glad that the woman who recorded the video shared her encounter with the intention of education. It could save somebody’s life in the future.

RELATED: How To Properly Deploy Bear Spray

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