Hikers in Canada’s Banff National Park on Tuesday were stalked by grizzly bears for several minutes in what the guide described as an “intense” experience.
The accompanying footage, provided to CBC News by Jess Rogers, shows what appears to be a momma grizzly with a large cub emerge onto the trail behind the hikers.
Phoebe Nicholson, the tour guide, explained in the footage: “Internally I was quite nervous, but I also felt prepared.”
As the bears followed closely behind, Nicholson urged the hikers to keep walking but remain calm as they attempted to reach Consolation Lake.
The bears followed the hikers for 15 to 20 minutes at a distance of 10 to 20 meters, Nicholson said.
Although the smaller bear ran toward the hikers a couple of times, in possible bluff-charging behavior, the bears did not attack.
Said Nicholson: “We got to Consolation Lake and we kind of just watched in awe, getting our breath back from what had just happened, which was pretty intense.”
Grizzly bears typically steer clear of groups of people on a trail, so this was unusual behavior.
Nicholson described the encounter as a learning experience, and stressed the importance of keeping bear spray ready while hiking in bear country.
