Terrifying moment brown bear charges at tourists in Alaska

2023-06-28

Terrifying moment brown bear charges at tourists in Alaska before brave group member runs towards it screaming in its face and manages to scare it off

The group were on guided tour to Chinitna Bay, Lake Clark, in Alaska this month
Guide Martin Boland, who has over ten years experience, defended the others

This is the terrifying moment a brown bear charged at tourists in Alaska before a brave group member managed to scare it away.

The group were on a guided tour to Chinitna Bay on Lake Clark’s Cook inlet in Alaska earlier this month with the company Scenic Bear Viewing – with the aim of glimpsing the bears in their natural habitat.

But they were taken unawares when a bear in the distance suddenly began charging towards them at a rapid pace in a nail-biting encounter.

Luckily, guide Martin Boland, who has over ten years of experience in visiting the bears, showed immense bravery as he ran towards the bear with his camera while screaming in its face.

The animal then scuttled off back into the water having been scared off by Martin’s quick-thinking in the face of danger.

This is the terrifying moment a brown bear charged at tourists in Alaska

Guide Martin Boland, who has over ten years of experience in visiting the bears, showed immense bravery as he ran towards the bear with his camera

An exhilarating video of the encounter began observing a relatively calm bear around 25 meters away as it dug holes on the sandy shores in the National Park, while the tourists filmed.

Read more: Terrifying moment couple come face to face with pair of enormous brown bears while hiking in Alaska

But the camera quickly panned to a brown bear in the distance which suddenly began charging at the group and gaining speed rapidly in an extremely tense moment.

The tour company issued advice on their Instagram following the terrifying ordeal.

They wrote: ‘Never run from a charging bear, even though your instinct is to run. This is a bluff charge. They are just trying to get you to run. They have a natural chase instinct.

‘Don’t get close to bears in the wild. Make sure you have an experienced guide with you! We do not get closer than 50 yards. These bears came to us.’

They added that there has never been a bear attack in the 30 years people have visited the area.

Scenic Bear Viewing offers tourists a chance to glimpse bears in the wilderness.

The group sets out from Homer in Alaska on a plane with Martin, who has flown for over thirty years, to Katmai or Lake Clark National Parks.

A post shared by Scenic Bear Viewing (@scenicbearviewing)

An exhilarating video of the encounter began observing a relatively calm bear around 25 meters away

But the camera quickly panned to a brown bear in the distance which suddenly began charging at the group

The bear began to gain speed rapidly as it barreled towards the awaiting group

Martin showed quick-thinking as he ran towards the bear screaming, managing to scare it off

Brown bears generally live for between 20 and 25 years – although some have been known to reach as old as 35.

The US National Parks service advises visitors to know the difference between bluff charges and aggressive charges.

For a bluff charge – which is intended only to intimidate – the Parks service advises people to simply hold their ground but to not run away in case it triggers a real attack.

In a bluff charge, as shown in the Alaska incident, it will take big leaps but eventually move off to the side.

In an aggressive attack, the bear will charge quickly towards a person.

For a brown bear, a person should play dead and stay as still as possible so that the bear doesn’t view them as a threat.

If it’s a black bear, they should do their best to attack it back.

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