Hikers Survive Heart-Stopping Face-Off With Mighty

One factor you usually are not looking for to do when mountaineering is to come face-to-face with a big Alaskan bear. If they need to ship you to the afterlife, they’ll and will do so extraordinarily shortly.

For a trio mountaineering a slim path at the Anan Creek Wildlife Observatory in southeast Alaska on July 12, that’s precisely what occurred, however. They rounded a nook, and increase, there was “Scuba Sue” coming back from searching salmon in the river.

Luckily, they didn’t get mauled or eaten, but they had been loads scared. The three said that a fast briefing from a ranger before they set out might have saved them:

“We’d actually been watching bears, hoping that there were salmon coming up the river. We saw about four or five bears earlier. Those were black bears. And then coming back on the trail, we had an unexpected encounter,” Dr. Michelle Lynn Thaller said. “Right around the corner came this grizzly bear.”

Video reveals the bear getting up close and personal with the hikers. The group was pressured to speak to the bear, while slowly backing away to enable room for it to move on the trail.

“Oh, [I] was definitely terrified. And then we remembered what the rangers told us, which was what you said, to be big, talk to the bear, keep it calm and get out of its way,” hiker Tanya Thompson said.

Watch:

AN UN-BEAR-ABLY CLOSE CALL: These hikers got here face-to-face with a grizzly on an Alaskan path—and lived to inform the “tail”! 🐻@CharlesHurt will get the news on what was operating through their minds during the heart-pounding encounter caught on digital camera. pic.twitter.com/07O7BUrXO1

— FOX & Friends (@foxandfriends) July 18, 2026

Thaller famous they had been particularly involved because the salmon run had gotten to a late start this 12 months, and Scuba Sue may have determined to have one thing in addition to fish for dinner that day. “And, so, in years past, we had seen salmon,” she said. “They were eating salmon. The salmon were a bit later this year. And, so, these bears, they’re hungry. They’re waiting for the salmon to come.”

The ranger gave them the correct advice: do not turn your back, and whatever you do, don’t run. The bear might consider you prey at that point and will quickly overtake you. Pro tip: You’re not as fast as you think you are.

 Instead, try to make yourself look bigger and make loud human noises.

STAY FROSTY:  Watch: Bison Hurls Man 8 Feet High in Yellowstone Campground

Photobomb: Bear Wanders in As Reporter Teases Another Animal Story Live On-Air

Now let’s get to the burning question that I’m sure many inquiring minds want to know: why would a bear be called “Scuba Sue?” I’m glad you requested, because the reply is definitely fairly spectacular:

If you want Otis, you are going to adore Scuba Sue. pic.twitter.com/GAt6HXanSU

— Tongass Nat’l Forest (@TongassNF) July 24, 2024

The Otis referred to above is a movie star brown bear from Katmai National Park’s Brooks River cams. Note: The National Park Service formally designates Scuba Sue as a brown bear as properly, but the excellence isn’t always black and white, and many followers and news shops refer to her as a grizzly. 

Either method, you don’t need to come across her if she’s in a dangerous temper.

Want to watch some bears without chancing a rendezvous with a huge Ursus arctos? I’ve bought you coated:

Surprise! We have a new live cam. Watch wild black bears, brown bears, and more as they benefit from the pink salmon run at @TongassNF: https://t.co/xkPqSJKjXP pic.twitter.com/ZZZshrouT8

— explore.org (@exploreorg) July 24, 2024

Stay secure on the market, people.

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