TRUE/FALSE- Teresa
was within 125 yards of a female Grizzly.
True. Last Saturday
after an outing to Yellowstone National Park with 2 of her co-workers, I found myself in a “bear jam” where I got to see a Grizzly named Goldie
grazing in a field off of Pilgrim creek in Grand Teton National Park.
TRUE/FALSE- Teresa, along with a crowd of tourists, got
charged by the female Grizzly.
False. The crowd of
tourists and I did not get charged by the female Grizzly, Goldie, BUT by a much
larger and angrier male Grizzly on the walk back to the truck.
TRUE/FALSE- Grizzly
bears can run up to 35mph
True. Unfortunately, I
learned this the hard way, after witnessing a 700lb male grizzly come running
across an open field attempting to scare off me and the rest of the people
(talk about a heart pounding experience!) , so he could have his way with the female
Grizzly.
TRUE/FALSE- You should carry Bear Spray when in bear
country
TRUE! It is very
smart to carry bear spray with you…however, even with all the warnings in the
park, no one was smart enough to have it on hand as we found ourselves weaving back
and forth through the cars attempting to get away from the very agitated bear
who was now huffing and pacing, realizing he was trapped between the row of
parked cars and a pond.
TRUE/FALSE- Teresa
jumped into a stranger’s vehicle in an attempt to get away from the bear.
True. My co-worker,
Debby, and I opened the back door to a stranger’s vehicle and climbed inside
after deciding 25 feet was WAY TOO close to be standing next to a massive,
grumpy Grizzly. Poor Sonya and a
hand-full of other tourists were left outside huddled in a circle and clinging
onto vehicles.
TRUE/FALSE- Teresa witnessed someone getting mauled by
the GrizzLy.
FALSE!!! Thank the
Lord no one got hurt. After a bit of
shuffling around with the help of a volunteer ranger, everyone made it safely
back to their vehicles, and left with only a thrilling story to tell. What could have easily been a terrible
experience, fortunately turned into a unique and memorable experience which
hopefully will never happen again!
(sorry for the lack of pics…too concerned about safety to
whip out the camera J
)
As I was reading this post my heart steadily increased beat. I felt a huge relief when I read false after the statement "Teresa was charged by a female grizzly" which was all shattered when I found you were charged by an even larger and male grizzly! So glad you are ok, friend! Be BEAR aware is right! What exactly is "bear spray" made of? Has it been proven effective? Keep up the shouting while walking! Miss you two!
ReplyDeletePS: It looks like this post scared your other readers speechless! Interesting!
ReplyDelete