WATCH: Large Brown Bear Costs Hiker in Nationwide Forest, His Response Goes Viral

On Apr 27, 2026

This article originally appeared on The Gateway Pundit and was republished with permission.

Guest post by Paul Serran

A Ursine encounter is one of the most terrifying experiences in the natural world.

There are various schools of thought about what a person should (or should not) do when faced with such a situation.

Last Week (April 22), a terrifying video surfaced showing a massive brown bear charging toward a hiker in California’s Angeles National Forest.

One peculiar aspect of the video is that the hiker makes the unusual – and apparently unadvisable – decision to move towards the animal, instead of backing down.

The New York Post reported:

“In the video, a man dressed in hiking gear and wearing a hat is seen walking toward the bear—not away—and shaking bells in an apparent attempt to scare it off.

Instead, the agitated animal appears to charge toward him before the video cuts off. The close, face-to-face encounter—just feet apart—was captured by another hiker nearby.”

KTLA@KTLA

In video of the harrowing incident, the hiker appears to be looking for an escape route just moments before the bear charges. ktla.com/news/californi…

4:00 AM · Apr 23, 2026 · 10.4K Views

18 Replies · 6 Reposts · 18 Likes

“’I was thinking this guy is crazy, and I hope nothing happens to him’, Erin Chiu, who recorded the video, told NBCLA. ‘I’m not sure what was going through his mind, to be honest, because the last thing you would expect is for someone to actually walk toward a bear. At that point, I was a little concerned for his safety.”

Chiu reportedly hikes the same trail three times a week and had never seen a bear before.

“The hiker was eventually able to slowly back away as the bear moved toward him. Experts say the most important thing to remember if you encounter a bear is simple: do not run.”