A group of hikers came too close for comfort with wildlife during an expedition through an Alaskan trail, coming face-to-face with a massive grizzly bear.
Videos by Wide Open Country
During the hike, the group suddenly crossed paths with a grizzly bear named "Scuba Sue," who was hunting for salmon at the Anan Creek Wildlife Observatory.
Speaking on "Fox & Friends Weekend," the trio of hikers explained how they used the timely advice of park rangers to navigate out of the terrifying situation.
"We'd actually been watching bears, hoping that there were salmon coming up the river. We saw about four or five bears earlier. Those were black bears. And then coming back on the trail, we had an unexpected encounter," Dr. Michelle Lynn Thaller said. "Right around the corner came this grizzly bear."
Video footage revealed the scary incident, with the group being within arm's reach of the predator.
Hikers Describe Scary Encounter With Grizzly Bear
Upon crossing paths, the hikers made themselves big and talked to the bear while retreating slowly out of its path.
"Oh, [I] was definitely terrified. And then we remembered what the rangers told us, which was what you said: to be big, talk to the bear, keep it calm, and get out of its way," hiker Tanya Thompson said.
"There was no place where we met the bear to get off the path. So, we had to back up a little bit in order to get off so she could run forward."
Thankfully, the bear continued on its path peacefully in pursuit of salmon, which hikers noted had appeared unseasonably late.
"Well, that was something that actually made me a little bit nervous because these bears are here to fish for salmon. There's going to be salmon running up the river and spawning, and the salmon were not running yet," Thaller said.
"And, so, in years past, we had seen salmon. They were eating salmon. The salmon were a bit later this year. And, so, these bears, they're hungry. They're waiting for the salmon to come."
Typically, park rangers suggest a general rule of thumb with bears. If it's brown, lie down. If it's black, fight back, and if it's white, get out of sight.
With brown bears, taking a less threatening posture helps avoid conflict. Black bears, on the other hand, are much smaller and can be scared off. Should you come across a polar bear, though, get out of dodge as quickly as possible.
