Shoutout to the amazing cameraman who kept his hand steady while capturing this video of a brown bear attacking and taking down a moose. Clips of a full hunt like this are pretty rare, but being able to actually watch it without your eyes hurting is even less common.
The fact that the brown bear can take down a full moose is pretty crazy, especially given how strong and dangerous moose can often be. There’s a good chance the moose was sick in some way, as it didn’t seem to have enough concern about it’s impending doom. Sam Vassar, the person who posted this video, is incredibly lucky to have captured such a wild moment.
WARNING: The following video is fairly graphic. Don’t watch if you don’t want to see an animal killed.
“Got to witness a once in a lifetime occurrence this week upclose and film the entire interaction — A brown bear stalking and killing a wild moose in Alaska.“
We talk a lot about animal safety on this website, especially with all of the videos of people trying to pet or take selfies with wild animals. It’s hard to judge any situation without actually being there, but these guys seemed to have acted near exactly as they should.
They didn’t yell or try to scare the bear off, they were conscious about spacing (though they may have still been too close, hard to tell with zoom on cameras), and they more or less just let nature do its thing.
The number one rule while watching any sort of wildlife is keep a safe distance. Most animals should be given at least 25 yards, but predators, like bears and wolves, should be given at least 100. That depends on where you are, too. Certain National Parks, for example, require at least 50 yards from any wildlife, so make sure you read up on safety before you head out into the wilderness.
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Image Credit: Sam Vassar via Instagram