I had to share this video from Italy. As many of on the blog know, my primary recreation is backpacking and hiking. I have often shared photos of wild animals spotted on those trips but this video from the Brenta Mountains in the Italian Alps is quite unnerving. To have a large bear moving toward such a small child is really dangerous but thankfully everyone (particularly this young boy) remained calm and cool.
I have been surprised by black bears and Grizzly bears during hikes. They are gorgeous but nothing to trifle with. We have previously seen highly irresponsible conduct by people near bears (here and here). This family seems to have been surprised by the bear and does well to extricate themselves from the situation.
The video shows how magnificent these animals are in the wild. I have been a long critic of trophy or thrill hunters, including the killing of bears (here and here and here).
Despite my love for Italy (where my family originates on my mother’s side), I was surprised by the image of this bears in the wild. It turns out that Brenta is one of the few places to see bear in the wild with roughly 30 in the park. This looks like a beautiful Marsican brown bear (or an “Apennine brown bear”) that is part of the Eurasian brown bear population. They are not known to be aggressive but that does not mean there are not exceptions. One concern I would have (beyond a massive bear following my son) would be that these are nocturnal animals. A bear like this moving around in the day could indicate cubs or mating — neither of which is a good thing to happen upon.
Bears win.
All the time, save hunters.
Did it ever occur to anyone that this is a fake video. The boy is so clear and the rest is sort of blurred.
Nothing frightening about this encounter with a bear who clearly just wanted to go down for a drink of water.
Around here black bears are hunted so the moment one sees you, it runs away. It was startling once to meet a black bear up close, eating from the other side of the blackberry bramble I was picking; we both left rapidly in opposite directions.
Around here brown bears, similar to the on in the video, are called grizzlies. These are most rare, but one is advised to carry a so-called bear whistle to blow to cause the bear to leave. But the only one I’ve seen was while driving home from Elk River; it appeared ancient and tired.
The person filming is not the father of the boy:
https://twitter.com/loriscalliari/status/1264821654561198081
https://guidominciotti.blog.ilsole24ore.com/2020/05/25/trentino-lincontro-ravvicinato-un-bambino-un-orso-lieto-fine/
Although the father and child controlled their fear, and properly retreated, why did the father not allow the child to get ahead of him? He kept walking backward, filming his son cautiously walking…with a bear behind him.
How about you drop the stupid phone, stay in place, allow your blood to maneuver ahead of you, and then YOU bring up the rear with the bear caboose? A bear can run so fast. Faster than the father could do anything about it.
They clearly communicated they were not a threat, and the bear was satisfied. Lucky. I just vehemently disagreed that the father did not guard his kid.
I do not have it in me to keep walking away with my son behind me, with a bear trailing behind. A very curious, ready bear.
I grew up in an area where men walked on the street side. That protective nature was cultivated.
Karen….I’m in agreement with you!
Karen………. my husband was a bear trainer at Baylor and says you are exactly right!
The person who filmed the encounter is not the father of the boy.
Meanwhile, speaking of Europe, and predatory animals —
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Bolivian orchestra stranded at ‘haunted’ German castle surrounded by wolves
A Bolivian pan flute orchestra has been stuck in quarantine on the grounds of a grand 15th century palace outside of Berlin for two months. Over 20 members of the Orquesta Experimental de Instrumentos Nativos have been stuck on the grounds and buildings of Rheinsberg Palace, a castle, complete with moat, which has housed generations of German royals, according to the BBC.
The group arrived in Germany on March 10 expecting to perform at the MaerzMusik festival — the same day Germany announced its ban on large gatherings, swiftly followed by a full country lockdown. A week later Bolivia closed its borders — and the group was stranded at the 600 acre estate surrounded by 23 packs of wolves and haunted by the ghost of Frederick the Great.
“We all joke that Frederick’s ghost is following us and trying to trip us up,” Camed Martela told the BBC. “I don’t usually believe in such things but it does feel as if there are ghosts on the grounds.”
Tracy Prado, who just joined the orchestra in December, ran into wolves during one of her walks.
“I froze in fear but they were just play fighting and moved on,” she said.
To pass the time, the group practices up to six hours a day, takes walks (looking out for wolves) and plays soccer.
https://nypost.com/2020/05/23/bolivian-orchestra-stuck-at-german-castle-surrounded-by-wolves/
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And FWIW, these must be some very talented people. I took out a pan, and tried to blow on it and get sound and there was nothing. I mean you can bang it on the counter and get some pretty good sounds, but no way just from breathing on it. I even tried a cast iron one. Nope. My hats are really off to these people!
Squeeky Fromm
Girl Reporter
Of course it was a pan flute orchestra.
Unless a wolf is rabid, they are not generally a threat. Granted, I wouldn’t go put on some earbuds and go jogging past them. Everyone has their limit.
Most people in wolf territory will pass wolves many times before they ever see one. A TA I used to have studied wolves in Alaska. They found an abandoned den near a campground. It was filled with chewed up shoes and balls. The adults were stealing chew toys from the camp, and the people never even knew they were there.
That’s terrifying. I’m impressed by how calmly they removed themselves from the situation.
The Right To Arm Bears!
Well, thank goodness it was an Italian bear and not very belligerent. It was probably more interested in grabbing an espresso than chasing down some little non-appetizing brat.
Squeeky Fromm
Girl Reporter
So the family thought it was a good idea to continue filming?
I mean, the man continues to walk backward, filming his kid carefully retreating from a bear.
He’s got to turn in his man card now. Who knew that could even happen in Italy? I caught my heel in the cobble by Trevi Fountain, and a total stranger swept me up, without missing a beat, and carried me to the nearby cafe in case I might possibly need to ice my ankle. By that point, my sister and I weren’t even surprised. The Italians have elevated manliness to an art form.
And this guy filmed instead of using his body to shield the kid, just in case the switch flipped on the bear? If his kid had broken and run, it would have been all over. He could have coached him on how to keep his nerve while being right there in case things went left.
Did it occur to you he was trying to NOT SPOOK THE BEAR?
Karen wasn’t there, but she has all the answers.
Get that kid a clean pair of underwear……….
Wow.
Definitely not Blueberries for Sal.
I have that book! I used to read that to my kiddo when he was little.
Karen,
Ker-plink, ker-plank, ker-plunk! 🙂
One of my absolute favorite books, too. Robert McCloskey was one of the all-time great children’s authors.
The situation in this post did not quite fit with The Biggest Bear by Lynd Ward, though I suppose you could say that really big bear in the video perhaps wandered off to find a piece of maple sugar or something.
The child should have been instructed to drop the bag he was carrying and walk on.