There’s a grizzly approaching. Your vehicle is locked, but the window’s open, and you’re caught between a bear and a hard place.
What do you do?
If you’re the Grand Teton tourist who found himself in that situation earlier this month, you take the closest way out — you go for the open car window.
That’s the story behind one of the most absurd incidents witnessed in Grand Teton National Park in recent years. When a tourist found himself way too close to a determined grizzly, he dove headfirst through the open window of his vehicle.
There’s being bear-aware, then there’s doing whatever it takes to avoid a bear once you are aware.
This guy gets points for execution, at the very least.
B-Lining Bear
Molly Hagan is the social media coordinator for Backcountry Safaris Jackson Hole and was in Grand Teton National Park on June 3 when she encountered “a very large animal jam” ahead of her.
With that many vehicles, she said she knew it could only be a bear.
“With the level of traffic present, and having already seen plenty of elk that day, I figured it had to be a bear,” she told Cowboy State Daily on Thursday. “I parked my car and saw the crowd of about 50 people on a hill on the right-hand side of the road using scopes and high-level cameras to look across the road.”
Assuming whatever they were looking at was some distance away, Hagan took her time getting her camera ready. She wandered to a good spot to get a shot, but didn’t see anything in the open field.
“When I finally got to the crowd, I saw what they did: A huge grizzly, standing 10 feet off the left-hand side of the road,” she said. “And it was on the move, walking north along the road.”
Hagan immediately retreated to the back of the crowd, putting as much distance between herself and the grizzly.
This wasn’t a typical grizzly sighting — this large boar was on a mission.
“Three wildlife guides, all armed with bear spray, put themselves between the bear and the crowd,” she said. “The bear was huffing, looked at the crowd multiple times, but stayed at least 10 feet off the road.”
Meanwhile, people caught in the bear jam kept getting out of their vehicles, blissfully unaware of the huffing grizzly that could have easily bumped into and attacked them.
“At this point, the wildlife guides were yelling, telling everyone to stay in their vehicle,” Hagan said. “The bear continued north, and the crowd slowly moved south.”
Window Of Opportunity
The man Hagan captured in a photo diving through his car window was one of the unaware tourists who stepped out of their vehicles as the grizzly approached. It had temporarily disappeared, ducking between two trees along the road.
“When the bear emerged from the trees, it was right in line with his taillights,” Hagan said. “He did not hear the crowd yelling at him to get in his car. He closed his door as the bear got to his passenger doors, still huffing.”
When the man spotted the bear, he recognized the intense danger of his situation. He hurriedly tried to open the door of his vehicle, but the door was locked.
His first plan of escape having failed, he quickly determined another.
“He dove into his car window and tucked his feet just as the bear came around the driver’s side and crossed the street,” Hagan said.
Hagan caught the perfect moment of peril when the man’s torso was inside his Kia (with Florida license plates) while his outstretched legs hung out of the open driver’s side window. Fortunately, both man and grizzly escaped unscathed.
Nice Hustle
The National Park Service asks visitors to keep at least 100 yards between themselves and the bears roaming Yellowstone and Grand Teton national parks. Many people have been injured or killed after disregarding this rule, while others were genuinely surprised to encounter a grizzly during their trek.
One could say this Grand Teton visitor should have been more aware of his surroundings, given the number of vehicles and gawking spectators in the vicinity. However, considering the circumstances, his response was somewhat commendable, she said.
Rather than run or try to scare the grizzly away, the man immediately sought refuge in his vehicle. And when one door’s closed, he was fortunate to have a window open.
Most rangers and ecologists in the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem believe bear spray is a necessity for anyone traveling in grizzly country. However, when someone comes that close to an unexpected grizzly, the best thing to do is “play dead.”
The best defense against grizzlies is to avoid them altogether.
“The best tool you have is your own situational awareness and both mental and physical preparedness when in grizzly bear occupied areas,” Dan Thompson, bear expert and large carnivore biologist with the Wyoming Game and Fish Department, has previously told Cowboy State Daily. “The reason we promote the use of bear spray is that it’s been shown time and again to effectively stop a bear attack.
“With all of our people that’s happened to, the spray has stopped the charge.”
The Course Of True Love
Having captured the perilous but hilarious moment of quick-thinking grizzly avoidance, Hagan decided to follow the huffing grizzly. She wanted to know what was so determinedly driving it.
“Once the bear got into the woods on the crowd side of the street, we realized why it was huffing and clearly on a mission,” she said.
Let’s just say it’s mating season for Grand Teton’s grizzlies, and a sow awaited the boar in a picturesque meadow.
The miracle of nature unfolded, and Hagan lingered long enough to get one more photo to complete the story of the strange saga.
“The photos tell the story better than any words can,” she said.
Andrew Rossi can be reached at arossi@cowboystatedaily.com.
