Hiker Fends off a Terrifying Bear Attack While Climbing Down a Mountain

Black Bear

Photo: [email protected]/Depositphotos (Not a photo of the actual event.)

A mountain climber was maneuvering down a rocky ridge on Mount Futago in the Saitama Prefecture of Japan, when he had a terrifying encounter. Suddenly, from seemingly out of nowhere, a black bear came and attacked him from behind. The climber fought back; from higher ground, he began screaming, kicking, and using a hammer fist in order to scare the creature and drive it away. It worked, and the bear eventually retreated.

The entire incident was captured on the climber’s GoPro camera. Watching the footage, it’s jarring to see the man making his way down the mountain and then suddenly having to defend himself. It becomes clear, however, why the attack occurred. “Looking back at the video,” the climber wrote in a YouTube caption, “it seems that [she] attacked to protect the cub.”

After driving the mom away, the climber saw the bears traveling down the mountain while he went back to its summit. He rested a bit and eventually descended himself, now with scratched and cut hands and a sprained wrist. But, it’s a small price to pay for making it back safe and sound.

Watch the video below.

A mountain climber was maneuvering down a rocky ridge on Mount Futago in Japan when he a bear attacked him. The terrifying incident was captured on his GoPro camera.

h/t: [Neatorama]

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Sara Barnes

Sara Barnes is a Staff Editor at My Modern Met and Manager of My Modern Met Store. She is a graduate of the Maryland Institute College of Art where she earned her BFA in Illustration and MFA in Illustration Practice. Sara is also an embroidery illustrator and writer living in Seattle, Washington. She runs Bear&Bean, a studio where she stitches pet portraits and other beloved creatures. She chronicles the creativity of others through her website Brown Paper Bag and newsletter, Orts. Her latest book is Threads of Treasure: How to Make, Mend, and Find Meaning Through Thread, published in 2014. Sara’s work has been recognized in Be Creative With Workbox, Embroidery Magazine, American Illustration, on Iron and Wine’s album Beast Epic, among others. When she’s not stitching or writing, Sara enjoys planning things that bring together the craft community. She is the co-founder of Camp Craftaway, a day camp for crafty adults with hands-on workshops in the Seattle area.
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