Jogger Stalked By Bear Pulls Out Pepper Spray
on Apr 19, 2021
With bears coming out of hibernation, it’s best for people to stay aware and prepared while venturing into their territory.
Evan Matthews got to experience firsthand the value of being prepared. The Teton Valley resident uploaded a video to YouTube showing a bear following him as he was taking an afternoon jog on Death Canyon Road.
“I went to go check out the Death Canyon Road yesterday because I’m planning to ski Albright Peak tomorrow and was wanting to know what the approach would be like,” Buck Rail reported him saying.
Evan said he had just put the bear spray in his running vest this week and was about half a mile back to his car when he noticed something moving in the trees to his left. As he stopped, turned around, and focused in on it, he realized it was a cinnamon black bear staring right at him about 30 yards away.
“He didn’t seem agitated (yet) so I got my camera out to take a little video while I backed away. A couple of seconds after I started recording he advanced on me, not really at a charge but just a fast walk so I pulled out my bear spray and started shouting (while still backing up),” Evan said.
Fortunately, the bear never got close enough to him to use it, however, it did follow him all the back to his car staying about 75 yards away from Evan the whole time. It eventually ran off into the woods and Evan was left with a great video and story to tell.
“In most cases I’ve been able to just go around the animal. But this one was interested in me, so I had to change it’s mind!” he said.
Evan’s incident is a good reminder to carry bear spray on you when you’re in bear country, especially if you’re going to be out there alone. It can certainly save your life.
