A man filmed himself escaping a possible black bear attack using pepper spray against the bear that stalked him for more than five minutes.
Reddit user BertieTheBeaver posted a video Wednesday to the “That’s Insane” Reddit forum showing him walking backward while trying to scare the bear away, according to his viral Reddit post.
BertieTheBeaver said he used pepper spray to ward off the black bear from attacking and urged others never to forget to pack it.
“ALWAYS CARRY BEAR SPRAY WHEN YOU’RE IN THEIR TERRITORY! I filmed myself using my bear spray on this black bear that followed me for over 5 minutes,” he said. His video has 67,000 upvotes after just 20 hours of being uploaded.
BertieTheBeaver said he used his long lens camera to take photographs in a national park in Saskatchewan, Canada, according to his follow-up post. He was 100 meters (109 yards) upwind of the black bear, but the bear still smelled him and started following him.
“It definitely smelled me and was trying to get a look. It walked towards the trail I was on and started walking down the trail towards me,” BertieTheBeaver said. (RELATED: 9-Year-Old Girl Survives Fight With Cougar In Washington)
BertieTheBeaver was unarmed except for the bear spray, according to his follow-up post. Canada does not allow firearms in their national parks, according to Canada’s visitor guidelines.
“In hindsight, I should have used the spray earlier, but there was a strong wind, so I needed to make sure I was in position and I didn’t want to waste it. I was also waiting for a legit charge from the bear, but that didn’t happen, so once I had a sure shot, I gave it a small spray and that was enough to make it turn and run,” BertieTheBeaver said. “I decided to share this video to encourage more people to buy and carry bear spray anytime they’re in bear territory, even if it’s just black bears.”