Bears are very protective of their offspring. Just like humans, they’d do anything to protect their young from harm. Usually, this represents no problem, as bears roam the wilderness far from civilization and their encounters with humans are quite rare.
From time to time, bears wander into the populated areas and the result is a close brush with humans. These often end without injuries or fatalities but they can be pretty frightening!
What would you do if a mamma bear and her cubs showed up in your backyard?
A family from Southern California had an eventful Memorial Day when a wild bear and her cubs invaded their backyard! The incident was caught on a home surveillance video and shows a large mamma bear on a wall.
17-year-old Hailey Morinico heard the family dogs barking and then saw the bear charging at her mom’s service dog. The family’s others pups could do naught but bark and try to stay out of harm’s way.
Hailey had to act quickly to save the family dogs
Hailey didn’t hesitate to rush to her dogs’ aid! She bravely pushed the bear off the wall, grabbed one of the dogs, and retreated back into the house.
“Honestly, I did not know it was a bear until right after I pushed it. I didn’t register in my head that it was a bear,” Hailey said. “I was like ‘It’s an animal and it’s taking my child’ and I pushed the bear.”
Her brush with danger left her unharmed but Hailey’s encounter with the bear could’ve ended differently if she had not acted on time
Hailey knows that she has been very fortunate to come away from the incident with minor injuries. She only has a sprained finger and scraps on her knee and it’s likely that her quick reaction to the danger was what saved her and her dogs from the bear.
Her mom Citlally said she was shocked when she saw the video.
“I just break down every time I see it. It’s just horrifying to watch,” she said.
‘I had to do what I had to do’
Thanks to Hailey, all of the family dogs are unharmed, and the mamma bear and her cubs back in the wild where they belong. Hailey doesn’t regret rushing to action to save her dogs.
“I didn’t want to know what would happen if the bear hurt her or even took her, so I had to do what I had to do,” she said.
Still, what she did was dangerous. Wildlife experts agree that it’s best to leave the area and avoid antagonizing bears, if possible. By far the best thing we can do is to prevent bears from invading the backyard in the first place.
Encounters with bears have become more common recently as humans continue to encroach their territory
Black bears are not native to Southern California and have only been introduced into the area in the 1930s. Bear population in California has increased over the past 3 decades so it’s not surprising that encounters with humans are not as rare as they used to be.
To keep bears away from your backyard, you should avoid leaving your garbage out in the open, avoid leaving dog food outside and make sure you clean up your barbeque and grills and never leave your meat unattended.
If you leave in bear country and forget these simple tips, you might soon have to deal with a big, furry uninvited visitor opening your trash can or even going after your dogs and that’s something you want to avoid.
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