Missouri Man Surprises a Big Bear, Remains Cool as a Cucumber

There are certain things you never want to do to a bear and very high on that list is to not surprise them. That's when things can go terribly wrong.

But, one Missouri guy gave a textbook response to walking up on a large predator by remaining cool as a cucumber.

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Cedar Gap Hounds shared this interesting video on YouTube. There's no exact date given or location either. Just that he "walked up on a big Missouri black bear". Pay special attention to how calm his voice is when he realizes that there is a bear sniffing around just yards in front of him.

"Hey bear".

The only thing I would have done different if I were him would be to slowly back up while never taking my eyes off of the bear. I understand how curiosity would make you want to follow him to see what he's up to, but safety first would advise giving the animal as much space as possible. I will admit that it's easy for me to say what I think I'd do when I might completely panic if in his situation. Easy to be a Monday morning quarterback (literally in this case).

We know the black bear population in Missouri is expanding and growing so the likelihood of more encounters like this happening is high. Most bears will flee if they know humans are around as long as they don't feel cornered or have cubs nearby to protect. Alert them to your presence calmly and normally everything will be fine. Maybe.