Was walking today through the Carpathians in Poland, a brown bear walked out 5 metres from us. We locked eyes for 2 seconds or so, and me and my gf turned and walked away...

Never been so scared in my life.

I thougt it was a big dog (presumably with an owner) when I saw the dark hair move through the grasses in front of us.

Funnily, we walked into 7 women on the walk down. Told them we saw a bear, and their group split in 2 as to whether to continue or not. When they decided to fuck off back down, the alpha female gave us a firework. We decided to go back up, holding kebab skewers, a firework, a bottle of vodka, and drum'n'bass on the bluetooth speaker.

Passing through that area was the scariest moment of my life. Me and my gf just loudly chat shit to each other like psychopaths, expecting to die at every moment.
Any other /beast/ stories?

>>2789746 (OP)
op here:
I know some survivor fags will be like 'yeah normal', etc.
But fuck, making the decision to turn our backs and walk slowly away, not knowing whether he's following us or anything was fucking ogre.

going back up, the prints were so obvious. fuck me, they're huge.

I'm going to the Tetons next week and afraid of this. I wonder if I should shell out for bear spray but that park and Yellowstone are probably full of retards and Indians year after year and the worst you ever hear about it some retarded pajeet getting gored trying to ride a Buffalo or burned alive trying to shit in a geyser.

>>2789761
you should do everything possible to prepare for every possible outcome. the fear is paralyzing and you need to fall back to something simple.

think about:
>see bear ahead
>see bear cut across
>see bear following
>see bear sleeping somewhere
etc

i'm not an expert, but going into a bear area with no idea will cause you to do stupid shit.
i think i was lucky today in that we didn't scream or shout or run, and just calmly walked away.

the path we were on was the European E8 path which should see a fair bit of traffic.
you'll probably be fine, but the 'what if' shit seriously needs frontloading. if there's bears arond, prepare for it.

>>2789764
We will be hiking early with a higher probability of bear encounter so maybe I will buy the spray after all. This thread may have saved my life.

As a side not I decided against going to some of the remote Japanese national parks out of fear of bear attacks as well. (And snakes).

>>2789765
> This thread may have saved my life.
don't wanna sound like a faggot, but fuck, that's great to hear.
i'll never forget today. honeslty, those 2 seconds looking at a brown bear felt like years. i had all kinds of thougts about sacrifice to save my gf and 1000s of shitty outcomes involving being slashed running through my head.
the way it just walked out was like 'wtfff', like a random game over screen appearing.

>>2789765
does Japan actually have a bear problem? planning to visit remote national parks there too this year

>>2789791
>innawoods hiking
>bridge is washed out on the trail
>dont feel like swimming across since its cold and theres a waterfall like 50 feet downstream
>okay ill just go hike upstream then around this lake and cross it where its more narrow and a hopefully a tree has fallen on the other side
>make it around the lake through a damn marsh
>find a log and cross (picrel)
>3 minutes later see some movement in the corner of my eye
>15 feet away is a big black bear
>fur all mottled from winter
>turn 360 degrees and walk away

He was headed in the other direction, I dont think he wanted to fuck with me but I was totally unprepared, didnt have bear spray or even a knife.

>>2789791
There were 220 bear attacks and six fatalities last year in Japan and the number has been pretty much doubling every year. It was enough to make me reconsider anyways especially since their parks are a lot more remote and low traffic than the ones in the US it might be impossible to get help.

>>2789746 (OP)
>>2789767
IDK why city people are so afraid of bairs. One time in West Virginia I was walking up a mountain road closed to car traffic and startled a pair of bear cubs which were napping in the roadside ditch. Mom appeared at the top of the embankment with her full attention directed at me; when the cubs ran past her, she turned and followed them into the forest. It wasn't scary, rather a cool encounter. I went hiking alone in Wyoming grizzly country pretty often while working in Grand Teton National Park. Others wore dinner bells and brought spicy spray along in case the bear wanted some flavoring on that bland white person ass.

Bears are intelligent, curious and generally peaceful creatures. Respond to them with unpredictable aggression and damn right they're going to treat you as a threat. The only time you should be aggressive toward a bear is if you have food and the bear is clearly seeking to steal it from you. Human food is like crack cocaine to bears.
>>2789966
Don't be a stupid bugman who panics and screeches and jabbers in fear when he encounters a bear looking at him curiously like "Da fuq you doing in my back yard, stranger?"

>>2791630
>IDK why city people are so afraid of bairs. One time in West Virginia I was walking up a mountain road closed to car traffic and startled a pair of bear cubs which were napping in the roadside ditch. Mom appeared at the top of the embankment with her full attention directed at me; when the cubs ran past her, she turned and followed them into the forest. It wasn't scary, rather a cool encounter. I went hiking alone in Wyoming grizzly country pretty often while working in Grand Teton National Park. Others wore dinner bells and brought spicy spray along in case the bear wanted some flavoring on that bland white person ass.

>Bears are intelligent, curious and generally peaceful creatures. Respond to them with unpredictable aggression and damn right they're going to treat you as a threat. The only time you should be aggressive toward a bear is if you have food and the bear is clearly seeking to steal it from you. Human food is like crack cocaine to bears.
>>>2789966
>Don't be a stupid bugman who panics and screeches and jabbers in fear when he encounters a bear looking at him curiously like "Da fuq you doing in my back yard, stranger?"

>>2789746 (OP)
>turning your back on a bear and walking away

fucking Einstein ova here

>>2791846
>not proposing a solution

>>2789746 (OP)
I saw a bear in Canada from the car. it was very large and I was glad it was far away
saw some moose at another point on the trip. moose are enormous, size of a panel van with antlers. we'd parked up to look at them from the side of the road. some chinese guys turn up, get out of the car and go up to the moose and try to pet them. fortunately for them the moose just fucked off into the woods

>>2789761
People get mauled by bears every year in Wyoming and Montana. You’re a retard if you’re not packing a high caliber pistol or rifle or bear spray. Those brown bears are some of the most aggressive in the lower 48.

>>2789765
Got back safely. No grizzly sightings sadly. Got the spray for free from a nice hotel manager. Says people usually drop them off after their stay since you can't take it on an airplane and they rent them out to another company. Kind of lousy or them. The people are probably dropping them so someone in need can use it and they turn around and make them pay to rent it through a company rather than just rent our for free through the hotel.

All the high traffic grizzly trails were closed since they're coming out of hibernation and angry/hungry I guess. Had this same problem in Yellowstone a couple years ago. Would really like to see one.

>>2792463
If I hadn't shit in seven months and now had to push one out, I'd be grouchy as hell too.
>>2792407
Bears are less of a threat than Homo sapiens africanus. They're also big creatures, not really capable of moving silently like mountain lions. Keep your ears open.

>>2789746 (OP)
>in Erbil
>walk at dusk in long rectangular empty city park
> get to end of rectangle, defunct fountain with little wooden bridges going over the dried out fountain
>hear little squeaks coming from under the bridge
>discover at least 7 little puppies
>#cute
>start walking back
>less than halfway through the rectangle
>parent dogs catch site of me and gf
>suddenly there are at least 8 large street dogs growling and barking like crazy approaching us
>gf ready to run
>I tell her to face them, and lift bags above heads, walk backwards slowly
>dogs are continuing to advance as they all bark, biggest one is looking ready to actually attack
>every time the alpha approaches I stomp toward it one or two steps
>continue this for what feels like 5 minutes, probably only 2
>as we get near the exit, the dogs are finally satisfied that we mean no harm
>old Kurdish security guards give us a disapproving look or a smirk, too dark to tell
>later I realize how lucky we were that the dogs didn’t spot us at the bridge
pic rel

>>2792655
Remember being in Russia in winter with stray dogs. Was absolutely pissed. Just stared at the alpha, growled and marched towards him, and the dogs parted for me, kek.
Another guy told me how he ran up a snowbank and got growled at for ages and thought he was going to die.
Scary shit though. Alcohol helps, but I guess Erbil wasn't great for that.
Also remember having a gang of like 20 dogs following me and my gf around Kutaisi. Was like an army. Weird how they smelt the newfag on us.

>>2789746 (OP)
>me and my gf turned and walked away
>see predator
>turn your back to it
It's amazing that bear didn't chase you and murder you two retards.

>>2789761
>I'm going to the Tetons next week and afraid of this. I wonder if I should shell out for bear spray
Yes, I as just at the Tetons. You absolutely need bear spray, it's like $50 or you can rent. Do not rely on the dozens of chinese and other tourists to save you. At the Teton's you'll filter out like almost everyone once you walk ~2-3mi into the trailheads. Like around Jenny's lake 95% of people stop at Hidden Falls or Inspiration Point. Only a few dozen continue into the canyon above and there are bears. Also this time of year there are cubs, and moose calves. In cascade canyon for instance there was a black bear with two cubs, but luckily it just wondered around and fucked off apparently according to the people I ran into that saw it on the trail. Still I wouldn't take my chances, the mamas are more aggressive with babies. Not even mentioning grizzlies which do roam western Wyoming and are protected from hunters.

>>2792923
Were you in the canyons last week on Tuesday? I passed a black bear and two cubs a couple miles into the canyon that day I might have literally passed you on the trail lol.

Black bears are harmless though.

>>2792982
Last week, yes.
Tuesday, no. Was on Thursday in Cascade Canyon.
Probably the same bear though, The people i ran into that encountered it said it eventually just fucked off without issue, but even as a black bear i'd be cautious if it has cubs in that case.

>>2792921
probably so. but you gotta do what you gotta do.
not all of us are from bear countries, we just deal with shit as it fucking hapens.

the most important thing, imo, was not to scream like a bitch or run, etc. also thoguth that maintaining eye contact was potentially a threat.

still fucking haunts me though. ran through all the plays, etc.bb

>>2789746 (OP)
hope you took photos

>>2791906
You remain eye contact with them the entire time dumbass.

Forget bears, lets talk about Mountain Lions and Cougars. How are you supposed to get away from them when they can stalk you from far distances?
This >2794896 seems impractical to have to back peddle the entire way back.

>>2794975
Are you not a cat person or what? Encountering a mountain lion in the wild is the most rare and amazing nature experience to be had in North America. They are the most intelligent wild animal on the continent.
>>2792982
>>2793004
The bear mamas in Grand Teton bring their cubs around humans to keep them safe from male bears.
>>2792662
The more experience you have in dominating dogs, the more they will be afraid of you and not the other way around.
>>2792921
>bears are all psychotic killers who can snap for no reason at all, but most humans are decent people
peak basedboy mentality

>>2789746 (OP)
>ITT: loser dork subtle bragging on an anonymous image board about talking to women

This story would have been nice if it was real, too bad it was all in your head though.

>>2795019
Meds

>>2795020
>GUYS MUH GF
>GUYS I TALKED TO LIKE 7 WOMEN
>GUYS MUH GF WAS LAUGHING AT BEAR
>HAHA WOMEN R COOL AM I RITE?

What are you like 15? Grow up.

>>2795021
imagine being so shelered you think it's weird that groups of women go out and do things, lmao.

>>2795062
>it's weird that groups of women go out and do things

I'm not saying it's weird women go out and do things, I'm saying no one who isn't a virgin makes an entire thread on fucking 4chan of all places about talking to women and laughing with muh girlfriend like its some sort of cool or unique thing.