Video: Bear Chases Mountain Bikers for 1km on Mount Seymour

 Or to keep the rest of us away from that sweet-ass trail!

 ahaha

 Yea! more "shorts" trying to ruin Elon Musk, and ruin SPACE BIKING!

 Dog in a bear suit?

 I BET IT WAS TINEKE KRAAL DRESSED AS A BEAR TO SCARE OFF MTBERS WITHOUT VIOLATING HER PAROLE!

 @TheR: actually not that sweet... pretty janky.

 @jaydawg69: It's a fun trail. Just gotta find your flow through the jank

 NSMBA - North Shore Mountain Bear Association

 That bear is named Grey Beard. He lives on front side trail area, and is totally curious/ harmless. Put down yer guns dudes.. Just say hello and keep riding..

 Long may he reign

 @leon-forfar: I can find my flow through the jank but I prefer the darker trails.

 New Strava KOM!

 Bear witch project ????

 "We've got to stay together!" says the slow guy.

 Couldn't pick a worse trail to be sunk in on with a bear on your mark.

Chunky and rooty as crap with tons of undulations & things to constantly hang you up.

I had a momma black bear run me a few weeks ago when I accidentally went between her and cubs as the cubs crossed trail and she was uphill. Thought it was just a fluke until I saw her several weeks later, called out my presence as I was headed the opposite direction as she walked parallel to me off 50 feet or so.
She spun around and slammed a sapling to the ground doing that bluff charge/stomp/grunt action. To my surprise...those same 3 freaking cubs crossing just ahead of me and here I sit between her and them. Sprinted. Did not look back this time.

 Thats one way to get your best time on strava. Soo scary though, they did the right thing by trying to scare it off.

 Guys. I got your back. Don't sweat it. I'm super good at yelling at those giant raccoons.

 This is how the Trophy of Nations train in Canada!!!

 Unfortunately I had a very similar encounter by myself riding DH. Black bear 350+ lbs I was for lunch. Did all the same pick up bike but way louder and 700 times more cursing. I made it up to a fireroad on steep terrain. It followed me trying to flank me every time. After 20 minutes I said can you blast 45 mph sustained Yogi? Really crazy feeling knowing this beast wants to eat you.

 Luckily the animal was chasing bear footed. Ok bye.

 @jorgeposada: buzzing just reading that

 @thetrailpup: You've just made me spit out a bit.

 They will make sure to go to the nearest bike shope, chance the saddle and maybe get an e-mtb. Those motors sure will pay off when a beer is in sight!

 @jorgeposada: when they first reintroduced elk to cataloochee, they couldn't get the hers to thrive. Study found out a big Male black bear was rushing in and ripping away the fawns as soon as they were born.

 @bizutch: Oh you west coast guys...

 @bizutch: Which trail? I need to keep an eye out for her.

 @bizutch: you had 13 upvotes just gave me mine to stop that jinx. Ride safe mate

 We’ve got to stick together? Who’s we? You’ve got to keep up.

 @Spitfire111: First time was on the lowest explorer trail, then 2 days later on the middle explorer trail. The last time was on the connector trail that runs from Hard Times over to Rice Pinnacle. Each time they had been moving further down the ridge and closer to the arboretum.

She's big. You won't miss her.

 @Spitfire111: She still has 3 cubs for a reason. She keeps them safe with a lot of bluff charges...I mean automatically. Most momma bears tend to ditch their babies and run when it comes to bikes spooking them.

There is a guy near my house in Asheville who feeds a female ice cream bars out of his bare hand. I didn't believe him until he literally showed me the video. She's apparently had a den behind his house for years and raises her cubs in his yard.

 @bizutch: Was curious what kind of bear activity is in Pisgah. In NJ they are forced into a small area. Upstate NY and VT you will likely never see one but they are car sized.

 @jorgeposada:
If you look up WLOS 13 ABC on Facebook (our local news station) there are currently 3 videos (1 by a station employee driving to work)...of:
1. Large black bear using the roof of an old Honda Civic to pick caterpillars out of tree
2. A 1yr old cub playing with a soccer ball like a dog
3. 2 Cubs frolicking in a rope hammock for several minutes

All 3 videos are less than a week old

 @bizutch: I guess it's party time before hibernation season. I'm hibernating until it gets below 99 degrees here.

 @bizutch: Thanks for the info. Usually see a fair number most years over in the Spencer Trace area. Not this year for whatever reason.

 Sorry for the “neg”; I fat fingered it. That was hilarious and the best comment I’ve seen in a while!

 It's all those noisy pawled hubs! That bear is so confused wondering why after following the buzzing sounds there's no honey anywhere.

 lmfao!

 at least he could shave sometimes

 "wait up guys! i just wanna ride with yall!"

 Dang it, Kiwis, ennunciate!

 @SacAssassin haha, on point!

 Very good!

 Mine constantly barks while in motion.

 You're lucky. Mine won’t run, and stops to eat garbage and people every few minutes!

 Trail Bears out here in SF surely has a different connotation...

 @DirtbagMatt: those trail bears are easily distracted by wine and dance music.

 @nyhc00: and cute little biker boiz

 Now I know for what I can use my Swat Box. Oh, Im in the wrong country...

 I support the right to arm bears.

 This is level 9 on Zwift.

 Also saddened by this as it seems it has had repeated close encounters of a similarly over-curious kind. Great link BTW, thanks.

 They can be reconditioned, though I’m not sure on the success rate and the bears do need to be relocated away from people. I saw one of those Game Warden shows on Discovery channel where in Washington state they capture problem bears and relocate them, but on release they use dogs and fire whistling cracker shells and rubber slugs from shotguns at the bear to teach them humans are dangerous.

 @dodgerpuppy: sadly they're not relocated here anymore, just killed

 @DodgeORama: I think you are right and would guess it is sadly from experience. I think the effort to rehabilitate and the gamble can be too risky. I remember in Banff they used to relocate bears way back into the Ghost- over 100km sometimes from their initial site- and the bears would often find there way back to their home territory but now after a decidedly negative experience with humans. Same thing on the back side of the Waterton. @dodgerpuppy yeah that would be cool if they could do that successfully with all of them- such beautiful animals. Sadly Black Bears are so prevalent in some areas it would be a logistical nightmare to do that for all of them. It would be a weird week if I didn't have a bear or two roam through the yard- and sometimes dig up the garden on its way.

 if i were 1 second faster i would have t boned a giant bear who crossed my path running as i was ripping down oasis many years back. yikes, pretty fun actually because i was out of harms way so quick. a little worried for my buddy behind me but all good. love those bears but wouldnt fancy smacking into that wall of black fur .... yep random

 Yeah good info in this post. Herrero is a really good read. I lived up near Smithers for a few years and we ran into black or grizzly bears on nearly every ride. We had apple trees in our yard so it was frequented with bears. Never had any really threatening encounters. One even got stuck in the motion activated entrance to the ER I worked in - we all had to wait about 10 minutes before it finally faced the right way and opened the doors! Herrero is a good read because it differentiates between the behavior of both types of bears and how to deal with encounters. It sure can be hard to stand your ground! Two years ago was in Gatineau Park near Ottawa with my 8 year old son - large black bear came strolling towards us. We stood our ground and spoke to it - it slowed down and thought about it for a bit but then it kept slowly walking towards us. I asked two hikers to come down the trail and stand beside us to make us look bigger. Bear turned around. No biggie but my son still remembers like it was yesterday this large black bear looking right at him from 10-12 feet away!

 It's so amazing when we do get to encounter bears- the tree hugger side of me (admittedly not my biggest side) is always grateful for environments that still support apex predators- but it can sure be frightening. I've had some curious black bears follow me, once had one charge me but that was my fault as I was riding at dusk with headphones on and nearly hit it, spooked it, and it just took a lunge at me before running off- but my scariest was with a Grizzly a little over 10 years ago. I was hiking out of Upper Kananaskis and was about 50 meters ahead of the person I was hiking with. I came around a corner to a sow Grizzly about 30 feet in front of me on the trail. In what felt like a second it covered that distance and was within a couple feet of me. It was batting at the ground, grunting, and making this sharp woofing sound. I remember just feeling frozen, amazed at the size and scope of it, and 95% sure I was going to die. I remember having this thought of how devastated my fiance (wife now) would be. Behind the sow, where she was initially standing when I rounded the corner, three cubs ran across the trail and she turned and followed them into the bush. It was super uncharacteristic of Grizzly bears as a more typical response would no doubt have left me mauled and, given the size of the animal, about as dead as I had predicted. All of it happened in a minute or two and I was left there frozen. It was an interesting moment as I work with PTSD professionally a lot, have worked in psychology for years, and know how the brain works in those moments. I remember the smell of the rain on the ground, the texture of the mud and rocks on the lake shore, the sounds the bear made so vividly- my brain just locked them into an emotional container that I can call on to this day. It doesn't impact going out in bear country luckily as it was one of many experiences I had growing up in the Rockies with a mountaineer as a father. Luckily all of them have left me uninjured. Had it have been a one off it for sure could have changed my relationship with the outdoors. It sure did give me a lot of respect for the animal and how we respond in moments of crisis- often counter to we "know." Staring at it from that distance- all theories on what to do, all thoughts on how I could fight it, any of the videos, books I'd read, and even some of my experience...all of that was gone.

 Just wanted tips on how to get started as an influencer and the best way to monetize his YouTube channel.

 @badbadleroybrown: Should have watched "Seth's Bear Hacks" on Youtube

 I was thinking the same - stand up to it at the start, don't ride away quick. And thank you Brad for not feeding him. That would have been the worst response possible.

 That's too bad, that bear is most likely getting euthanized.

 @chacou: Unfortunately that's what we thought too. He really wasn't displaying 'normal' bear behavior.

 @chacou: In NJ where I was chased they call any untagged bear a rogue bear and usually end up killing it for being a bear. At least relocate it, blindfold, spin it around 50 times then tell it to run. I don't tattle so hopefully he still out there, just not on one of the double diamonds next time.

 Well I just realized this was on the same day as our encounter and just a few trails away... it could 'bearly' be a coincidence...

 I saw a little black bear yesterday around Dorothy Lynas, at the base of Seymour. I wonder if Momma and cub were separated and this is the mother in the video. The bear I saw was 1 year old or so (I didn't ask it for ID, so just guessin').

 @chacou: good, its a threat at this point. There's only one way this can end.

 Throw rocks past him. Bears flip out when shit makes noise behind them when they arent expecting it.

 @englertracing: Haha we did throw rocks, totally unfazed. This bear ain't taking no shit from humans.

 Here in 'Murrica they would've shot the bear and used the Stand Your Ground law.

But seriously, my first reaction would be to pedal TF outta there as well. I don't know if I can valiantly stop and hold the bike up in the air to make myself look bigger like those guys did.

Do bears hate the smell of human piss and shit? Because if they do then I should be golden

 @uphill-blues: It's counter-intuitive to stand your ground, for sure! A close friend of mine was with a group of 4 hiking here in Alberta, all of a sudden this massive Grizzly starts plodding up the trail towards them. What does she do?... She drops her pack and runs, screaming, past her friends, into the bush. Absolutely wrong in every way, she knew what she SHOULD have done, but you know what, nothing happened! Grizzly didn't give a damn and kept walking right past them. Lucky break.

 9 dead bears on the Shore this year.

 @cooperquinn-wy: make that 10 after the one that tried to open up my sliding door

 My buddies and I were doing an all day epic-style ride in the San Bernardino National Forest. We came across some poop with undigested berries on it and we stopped and started arguing if it's a bear's or a mountain lion's. None of us are fucking nature experts so it was pointless. But as we were debating, we suddenly realized that it's most definitely one or the other's poop, and it was fresh. We must've KOM'd that hill.

 Or you climb a tree. If it climbs up after you and eats you, it's a black bear If it pushes tree down and eats you, it's a grizzly

 @nonk: Speaking of bears climbing trees, by far the craziest bear video I have ever come across

www.youtube.com/watch?v=hURgA_BNSGc

 @nonk: awesome! Thanks for the new line

 @uphill-blues: If it's got berries in it it's not a mountain lion!

 Lower digger is, in fact, ultra-mint right now.

 Exactly. This is the typical case of a lack of awareness turning into a negative bear encounter. First thing you learn is not to run, bears can run faster than horses, even downhill, there's no way in hell you're gonna drop one on a janky trail.

I can't help but think buddy may have wanted to get a viral video for his youtube channel. Are the extra clicks and likes worth Dougie's life?

 Stand your ground, make noise, put your bike in front of you on the rear wheel to increase your relative size. Had a black bear stare us down for a few minutes last week as well.

 Throwing rocks past them has spooked the bear and resulted in them high tailing every time i have done it.

 How do you tell grizzly poop from black bear poop? Grizzly poop is full of bells and smells like pepper.

 Hopefully everyone stays away from Seymour for the next while. Give this guy some space

 It's right before hibernation so they are particularly active right now

 You mention our hillbillies but not your bogans? Cmon man.... Lol

 @englertracing: bogans wont try kill you, they will just either ask you for cigarettes, sell you meth or just steal you bike so they can sell it and buy meth lol

 Little black bears like that one, stand up and look big and shoo it away like they did in the middle of the trail. Proof is in the video. Grizzlers, ride faster than the guy behind you. Play dead if you aren't already.

 If it's a curious or persistent black bear like this, you need to establish a show of force. Be big, be loud, and send the message that you are not food. Your response is based on A) species of bear, B) conditions of the encounter, predatory or defensive, and C) the conditions and what you have to work with. In this case, at the end, they did the right thing by standing their ground and showing they were willing to fight.

 Correction. See:

northshorebears.com/aware

Stay calm – take a deep breath

Speak calmly to the bear (in any language) - identify yourself as a human

Slowly back away – give bears lots of personal space and an exit. Do not run, you could trigger a natural chase instinct

 @cerealkilla: That makes sense. Bu with a brown bear you appear non-threatening and kind of just hope it doesn't want to eat you?

 @forbiddenbeat: First, don't go with "brown bear". There are grizzlies (always brown), and black bears (mostly black, but also brown, cinammon, and blonde). Indeed, with grizzlies, you want to minimize any threatening behavior on your part as they generally respond to threats with aggression. Unless of course it is a predatory grizzly hunting you, in which case preparing to fight is critical. For a black bear that is defensive, you make yourself clearly known as a human and seek to calmly leave. However, a black bear that is persistent, overly curious, or mistaking you for a meal, you go aggro. In almost any case, running is a bad idea. Food runs.

 I worked for the Forest Service in SE Alaska and the training instructed people to be big, load and hold ground. If a black bear is interested (like the one pictured) it is hungry - this is not typical territorial behavior. If a black bear follows, pursues or become persist, even attacks...you need to fight and not play dead. It is basically doing a cost benefit. Does this meal pose a threat, no...okay pursue. yes, not worth it find another meal. Brown bear approaches are usually more aggressive and are typically bluffs, play dead, or look non-aggressive.

 @heckler73: Also take a good look around any for cubs. It's easy to get focused on mama bear and not realize there are 2 or 3 cubs nearby. Then identify your exit and ensure the bears have one too.

 @downcountry got it right from everything I’ve been taught and put into practice with many black bear encounters. Thankfully, even with spending a lot of time in Grizzly country, I have never run into one, but I always carry bear spray in those areas.

 @letsgoridebikes18: fun fact: a mother black bear woth cubs is the least likely to be involved in an "attack".

Its most likely to be an adolecent male. The Pinkbike commentor of bears.

 Stab it in the neck. That worked a few weeks ago! @heckler73:

 Can we all stop separating these poor bears by their fur colour and demonising them for their actions. It's always the bears of colour that get reported in a negative way... "brown bear attacks biker" or "black bear enters home". On the other side I see appeals and campaigns from celebrities and NGO's to help the white bears. How hard can it be for them? Contracts with National Geographic and Greenpeace whilst David Attenborough has them on speed dial.
The bears of colour... Left to forage in trash cans and euthanized on their 3 offence.
#bearsdontseecolour
(evidence shows this may not be correct)

 London Soho on a weekend, many bears...

 Yes, but you don't just spritz it into the air and bears stay far away. The idea is to bullseye a charging bear at close range. Basically, you're already in a fight with a trained opponent who outweighs you 4:1 and is carrying weapons. Using spray means you're choosing to escalate the conflict - and you often get sprayed, too, making it difficult to subsequently escape. It's a LAST RESORT option.

 FWIW, I wouldn't carry bear spray, probably more likely to get yourself than the bear. An air horn is much more effective. Our bears are fairly different from what you might encounter further north. We have black bears in Colorado that are fairly small and skittish. I haven't heard of grizzlies in Colorado ever, although maybe in the early 20th century and prior there were? We encounter black bears a lot this time of year, as they're trying to fatten up for hibernation. Unfortunately, they're primarily eating trash too, as more people move up from Denver naive, ignorant, or worse, apathetic to the wildlife in their new backyard. I've encountered bears on rides and typically you just dismount when you see them, hold up your bike and yell loudly, as these guys did, and they'll run off or climb a tree. In the spring and early summer you need to be a bit more aware of whether the bear you're encountering is a sow or a cub, if it's a sow then you better start scanning and figure out where the cub is and move along. Now, mountain lions we do have plenty of too, that's a whole different story, beautiful and really frightening.

 @chacou: I can second this. Very few people in CO carry bear spray. MTBers even more so bc you have to stop, dismount, retrieve, judge wind, aim, and fire...at which point a charging bear has already closed the distance.

Another big thing to remember is to avoid eye contact if it might be territorial (as this encounter appears to be). Most bears ignore humans once they recognize you as non-threatening, but eye-contact can signify a challenge.

Be big, make clear, constant noise, and move away slowly.

Mountain lions are terrifying. If you see one and it sees you, stay big, move slowly, and don't let it out of your sight. Stay together as a group and find a way back to a vehicle or civilization with haste. Lions will stalk prey for miles and you only see them when they feel confident enough to get close.

A lion can weigh anywhere from 200 to 400 lbs. Imagine a linebacker armed with knives that can jump 10ft in the air and run at 40mph. You aren't winning that fight. Best way to avoid lions is to avoid traveling at dawn and dusk, don't travel alone, and keep track of recent sightings and activity. Additionally, if you come across a dead carcass (deer, elk, etc) in the grass, move away quickly as it is likely a lion kill and the lion is probably still in the area. If its near a trail, report it to a ranger.

 @chacou: Mountain lions are terrifying. The thing is you often don't see them cause they're so sneaky.

 I guess in an ideal world you use air horns at a moderate distance, and then resort to spray if an animal persits, and gets close.If I had to pick, I would stick with spray because I have a built-in air horn, but I can't yet spit pepper spray. But yes, definately a last resort. Also, the dyes that are used are fairly permanent in pepper spray, so that if you need to report an animal that was blatantly aggressive or habituated to humans, it will be positively I.D.ed and potentially euthanized by someone official with a badge. Most importantly though is not getting to the point you need to use either.

 In Montana, I carry bear spray, a knife, an air horn and a bear bell. The bell has helped scare away a number of bears but also other wildlife (Though in some areas, the bears have become accustomed to bear bells and associate the noise with food) Haven't had to use the spray yet, but keep it ready on my hip, same with the air horn and knife in case they're to close for comfort. Basically I try to be prepared, you should never run or ride away fast because it triggers a natural instinct to chase you....I ran into 2 Grizzlies at 10,000ft on a ridge, they turned and darted immediately when they heard the bell and didn't stop running for 600-700yards until they disappeared in the brush

 I had an encounter many years ago in the Santa Cruz mountains with a Mountain Lion. 17-18 miles out in the Mountains on a training ride, alone. Was resting after climbing for 10 miles and had 4-6 deer run out of the brush AT me and past me. Thought, wow that's kind of strange. Seconds later heard a light rustling from the direction the deer ran from and saw a large Mountain Lion about 50 yards away. It actually growled at me which caused me to promptly poop my pants, at which point I sprinted down the way I came and didn't stop for the next 5 or 6 miles! I take it they don't appreciate having their hunt ruined by humans!

 Yup, and another tip is don't wear headphones. The trail runner that was attacked by a juvenile lion outside of Ft. Collins basically admitted that, along with the lion being a juvenile only about ~40lbs I believe, he was able to hear it stalking him from behind and thus fight it off which saved his life.

@bikeandfish I've never heard of a bear bell though, is that like a timber bell that mounts on your handle bars? Curious. Good point about a knife, that's another piece of equipment I should add.

 @drpheta: Yeah, about this time last year, during rut, I was pedaling my usual after work loop near home (Three Sisters - Evergreen Mtn for those in the Denver area). And started smelling death and rot, eventually noticed a murder of crows about 20 yards off the side of the trail ahead making tons of noise. As I got closer I noticed they were perched on a huge rack, like a 6x6 bull elk, there was a switch back that I rounded and was now above the kill and could see it's stomach was all eaten out. At that moment I looked around quickly in a panic to see if there was a lion in sight and pedaled as fast and hard as I could to get the f*ck outta there. That was by far one of the freakiest moments I've ever had and still consider myself dumb and lucky. Evergreen has had quite a few lion encounters lately, there was a female lion that CPW captured and put down who was just hanging around downtown on some of the cliffs above The Little Bear bar (turned out to be very emaciated and sick) and there was that terrible news of the 7 year old boy that was attacked and fought of the lion in his yard in Bailey, suffered some terrible injuries. With little kids myself it's super scary, we don't let them outside alone, but you just gotta try to be prepared I guess. We're living and playing in their home.

 @chacou: The last grizzly killed in colorado was in 1979 near pagosa springs, guy killed it by hand with an arrow after it attacked him. Ranchers in SW colorado have reported sightings in the last few years. Nothing verified ....yet

 @BsampSy:
No such thing as a 400 cougar, at least on this planet. Biggest recorded and supposedly weighed was 276lbs but this was likely grossly inflated and stemmed from a not so credible source. Anything over 140lbs is extremely rare. Also British Columbia has close to 25% of the worlds cougar population, which is annoying.

 @chacou: a bear bell is just a simple bell with a velcro strap. pretty sure walmart, cabelas, sportsmans warehouse, REI all carry them. They may be annoying be great for the backcountry or crowded trails with lots of horse/hikers.

 @bikeandfish: thanks for reminding me about the bear bell. My buddy who hikes told me about it. Also met a rider who told me about a bear encounter he had going down El Prieto in Altadena, CA. That's my backyard trail, and it's a singletrack downhill so there's no "other way around" if you encounter one. Well, there's the cliff I guess...

 No, bears shit in the middle of logging roads and trails.

 hardoooooo comment of the year.

 Yes, they were followed by a bear, but with black bear this typically means they either associate humans with food, or view them as potential prey.

 @dodgerpuppy: ya but have you ever seen a bear run?

 @zaalrottunda: I’ve done plenty of beer runs; does that count?

 funny shit

 The one time I rode in Whistler, bears were everywhere. I came around a corner, and there was one I didn't see or expect, just across a logging road. I froze, because I didn't want it to chase me, but then it kind of started in my direction, and I figured it was best just to get the heck out of there. It wasn't a danger, because it wasn't stalking me or anything, but it got the adrenaline going.

 Got self reliance?

 Shredders they were not...

 because it feels overly dramatic..

 Not in Colorado please, we don't need any higher fire risk. Carry an air horn just as effective and won't burn down the forest.

 @chacou: Makes sense.

 I was expecting a full kilometer of rear-view footage with a bear on their asses.

 @endlessblockades: hey, I won't kink shame ya, but pinkbike is probably the wrong website if that's the kind of stuff you're into.

 @spankthewan: Uh, yeah...I stepped right into that one, for sure.