A close encounter with a mother bear and her cubs in Kitimat, BC, reminds people to be aware of wildlife that may also be trying to beat the heat.
Joey Ford was recently on Lower Dyke Road on the Kitimat River watching people fish and enjoying the sun.
He told Global News he was recording some pyrite flakes in the water with his phone when he looked up and saw two young cubs on the bank in front of him.
“Oh bear,” he can be heard saying on the recording.
Ford starts backing up, saying, “Get out of here, get back!”
The camera pans out into the water and then, as it pans back, the three bears can be seen together on the shore. One of them is standing on its hind legs.
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Ford is now in the water and one of the cubs is still moving towards her.
She backs up to the bench again as she keeps coming.
“You’re a little too nosy there, mate,” Ford can be heard saying.
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As Ford continues to fall back and the puppy continues to advance, Ford yells, “Stay back!”
Then, from around the bush, the mother bear comes charging at Ford who then runs into the water yelling, “Hey!”
Ford told Global News he knows he’s lucky to have walked away unharmed and alive.
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“The sow was so stressed out by all the people in the river that day, she was just trying to get her cubs to safety, her cub had other ideas,” Ford said.
“She was probably as scared as I was.”
According to BearWise, it’s very common for bears to beat the heat by swimming or splashing in a lake, pond or pool.
The organization recommends doing what Ford did if someone encounters a bear: backing away slowly, never running, and yelling at the bear to go away.
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