Short Video along with some details showing a grizzly charge in northen BC Canada. (The video link is in the top right corner on the page)

A B.C. filmmaker says he's lucky to be alive after narrowly avoiding a grizzly attack while filming in the Robson Valley, southeast of Prince George.
Leon Lorenz, who lives in Dunster, B.C., was filming grizzly bears in a nearby valley last Monday evening when he spotted a bear and her cub.
Lorenz said he took cover behind a spruce tree so he could film the bears without disturbing them, but the mother bear picked up his scent.
She turned suddenly, he said, and looked him right in the eyes. Then, roaring, she charged through the trees right at Lorenz. He recalls thinking, "This is for real. This is … no bluff charge."

Lordy.

Re-load.

Change underwear.

Thank God.

Great (and unusually high resolution) video, thanks for the link.

"She turned suddenly, he said, and looked him right in the eyes."

I have always been told not to look/stare predators in the eye, they see it as a threat. Maybe it's true.

Sue

Man, that sure didn't look like a bluff charge.

If you don't want to carry a real gun in the woods, maybe a starter pistol would be a good idea?

If you're going into the real woods, you'd best take a real gun, esp if you're looking for grizzlies... you might find some.

Sue

When I try to play it I get about 5 seconds of the backside of a bear, a 15 second McDonalds comemrcial, and then a blank screen with a lot of heavy breathing and one shot near the end.

Bob,

If you search on youtube using "Grizzly charge" you should find it. I can't try it out here at work due to massive firewalls and filters, but I saw it there last night at home.

Its pretty disturbing. I could only hope I'd have the presence of mind to fire off a round.

Thank goodness the bear's reaction to the gun was so sudden and quick. I would have thought just inertia would have brought the two into contact. Sheesh!

I dunno, this story bugs me. Maybe I'm all wet, but somehow it feels wrong. So pardon me while I rant.

On the one hand, the guy is said to have extensive experience filming bears. I assume the local fuzz and fish&game guys know him well, since he's allowed to pack a handgun; pretty rare up here. Kinda surprised that a small firearm was his choice; a 12-gauge is pretty much the minimum from what I've been told. Also very surprised at a small firearm instead of bear spray; many hunters have been blindsided by charging grizzlies and have been killed with a live round in the chamber.

On the other hand, reality check, this guy was essentially STALKING a female grizzly with a cub? Was so busy getting the big shot that he got upwind of a female grizzly with a cub? And then went to the press looking for sympathy/publicity/whatever instead of hanging his head in embarrassment and lying very low? Really?

End of rant.

Glad the mama bear is okay (and so the cub has a chance of survival). Surprised the guy is alive, but I'm okay with that too.

Doug:


The man was interviewed on the local news a day or 2 after the video was shown. He seemed to know his stuff and has a good 20 year track record in filming wildlife.

From my own personal experience in observing more bears that I can remember over the years (and I am not a bear expert by any means), bears will see/scent a human and either run off, stop and or move closer for a look (remember a bear's eyesight is poor compared to most mammals) or charge as what occured here. I have never been charged by a bear, yet I have had one walk by me less then 20 feet away and completely ignore me...granted it was not a female with a cub either.

When you watch that video clip, you see the bear charging, however she is not going in a straight line which possibly means that although she had a good scent whiff of the man, mama dd not at first have an exact sense of where the man was filming from. Also see the look of bewilderment on the cub's face...knows something was wrong but just could not quite figure it out and decided to stay close to it's mother.

In regards to the scent, it is certainly possible the breeze/wind shifted down toward the bears. As any hunter will tell you, this happens very easily and in this case, there were no hunters and the man suddenly became the hunted...

As for the choice of firearms, yes some people can and are allowed to carry a sidearm here in Canada. I can see where carrying a rifle, video cameras/equipment and other supplies can be a chore. Having a sidearm instead of a rifle makes sense in this case. If I had the choice, I would rather carry a sidearm then a rifle....mind you, while out hiking, I only carrying Bear Spray and never had the need to even consider using it yet. it's all about perspective and the risk factor I guess. If I get eaten by bear...sure beats getting taken out by a bus flattening me or any of the other usual and mundane ways to die...but thats just me.

Ran into this Mama Black Bear and cubs last month at camp, at 6:30a and in route to the bathroom. Fortunately I had not yet had coffee. She lingered for a couple of hours and it was something to see as she looked for food and ate what we believe was a newborn fawn (kept a wide berth of that meal). Can only imagine that a Mama Grizzly's proximity and attention would be orders of magnitude more memorable.

If it walks like a hunter and stalks like a hunter, its a hunter

Semantics...

I've decided that I was unnecessarily grumpy in my last post. The guy was taking a calculated risk, sure, but had taken steps to manage that risk. That's all I would ask of anybody.

I'm going to the mountains in a few days, walking solo in bear country. Just as I have done for the last quarter century.

I will walk with great awareness, I will watch for sign, I will make noise where visibility is limited, and I will keep a meticulously clean camp. Standard operating procedure. I will give myself permission to change routes or turn around if something doesn't feel right. I will leave word of my plans. I will also have a fresh cannister of bear spray ready for immediate use, just in case.

Some people might perceive this as a risky business. But I don't. I will manage as much of the risk as I can, make some allowance for surprises, and go. The game is worth the candle; I know I will be much more "alive" on the trail than I could ever be at the mall.

It reminds me of a quote from Colin Fletcher:
"But you know, if you stop to think, that at any moment, just when you least expect it, a lily or a thunderstorm or a moose, or just more sunlight slanting through different junipers, will tingle you into goose pimples. Or a rockface or river, a snake or sudden snowstorm will up and scare the arse off you -- to the immense benefit of your little universe."

On every gun site I've visited, people concur that a Grizzly wouldn't even hear a warning shot and that a warning shot would just tick off a Grizzly. I need to start taking online forums with a grain of salt. This Grizzly was clearly ticked. Further, the Grizzly appeared to be protecting a cub and territory. That's the perfect storm. Perhaps if the man had shot the bear, then the Grizzly would have gotten even more ticked. How many people can say they've been charged by a Grizzly? To date, here's the only person I've seen with proof.

I did not read anywhere that said "small firearm". I did see "handgun" though. There are some pretty monster handguns that would not be classified as small firearms. A handgun may have been more practical for him if he was lugging lots of other equipment.

I don't know about you, but I'm not qualified to criticize this guy's tactics. This guy regularly films bears, and he's still alive, enough said. Sometimes theory must take a backseat to experience. I'd prefer to take advice from the guy in the video, rather than masters of theory on the Internet. I mean no offense to you personally because you may very well have experience with a Grizzly charging you.

Ireckon, would you go hunting grizzly with a handgun of ANY size?

Sue

What got me was how the bear seemed to run around a lot instead of directly at him.

As I said in a previous post, the bear had the scent but probably could not fully determine where the man was which accounts for the bear not running in a straight line. Had the bear charged in a straight line, we could of been reading a totally different news story. If you have never actually seen in real life, a bear in the midst of a full speed run, it is very difficult to comprehend how fast they really are.

Many hunting/fishing/outdoors guides and bush pilots up here in northern BC carry 45-70 caliber rifles for backup big bear protection. At close range (when you need it the most) these rifles will drop any bear.

That said, there are hunters in Alaska who hunt with big caliber handguns...Not something I would want to take a chance at though.

Sounds like you have all proper precautions in place for a great time in the mountains. I take it you are either going to be in the Alberta or BC Rockies?

I read your question as this:

Ireckon, would you go hunting grizzly?

No!

It looked to me like the bear was checking on a cub and/or notifying others.