Running Into a Mama Bear and Her Cubs on the Trail (Desolation Wilderness)

I came around a large rock and the bears were right there on the trail. Thankfully, they immediately ran away.

[@davejones5728]

Super cool encounter. I love seeing wildlife but even nicer hen their natural sense of fear kicks in immediately. I also do the same things and stay out when encountering a bear and have safe results 👍🏾🎣👍🏾🎣

[@wildernesswithamani1027]

I was very happy when the mother bear saw me and immediately ran full speed away with her cubs. Having the cubs climb up the closest tree with mama standing guard right in front of me is an outcome I did not want to deal with!

[@hogwildbowhunter]

California may have the highest bear population in the US, we will not get in to the issues around that. You are correct she is teaching those cubs the best lessons we can hope for. Lastly I alway say live is a journey live it! Too many focus on the destination and miss the spicy parts of the adventure!

[@wildernesswithamani1027]

The mother bear who is raiding trash cans with here cubs is like the bad mother who leaves her kids in the car while she hangs out in a bar!

[@KennethTrejojr]

Be careful out in the wild. Lol. An another great video you posted.

[@wildernesswithamani1027]

I'm just glad they immediately ran away. When the cubs go up a tree and mama stands guard is not the ideal outcome!

[@ericpickering2406]

Mama and two bebe bears. So cool. Running AWAY. Better than running TO. Good advice on freeze vs. yell. Will try next time. Thanks Amani.

[@wildernesswithamani1027]

If a bear is alone I instantly start screaming and waiving my arms. Cubs change everything!

[@jfowler7604]

South and West Shore are loaded with 'em. I ran into a Mom +2 on a trail in the G.C. Wilderness some years ago. I was trying to follow an abandoned trail off of the Powderhorn trail in an attempt to follow five lakes creek drainage all the way to Hell Hole. I heard a scratching and scrambling noise and knew right away it was cubs going up a tree. I hesitated for a heartbeat and then did a 180 back the way I came. I heard momma bawling at me but I didn't stop to look back, I just beat feet outta there. Very interesting trip and the fishing in FL Creek was good but I've never been back.

[@wildernesswithamani1027]

I know the experience you speak of well! When the cubs go shooting up into a tree you know mama is close by on high alert. I was glad these bears just ran away immediately.

[@jaysmallen3067]

Thanks for sharing this. A lot of people also need to hear these stories to gain some knowledge on how things go down. My pup and I have had a good few bear encounters here too and they always go good. It's a bit startling and gets the blood pumping, but the outcomes are always good. We had an encounter with a mom and her cub a couple months ago where the cub was 20' up a tree with mom at the base holding her ground. We quietly and calmly went back the way we came and everyone was happy. Mom sat and watched us turn and leave calmly. Thanks and take care Amani!! 🤙🏻

[@wildernesswithamani1027]

I was talking to a guy in the Jenny Lakes Wilderness years ago and he was explaining to me that he heard there were not many bears in the back country anymore because they moved towards the cities and I looked at him like he was crazy. I just told him that is entirely false and he needed to get his food in order! I am also amazed when I see people try to hang their food in trees in a completely inadequate way. That's the only reason I have a clip on my outdoor safety playlist showing how I did it for 25 years successfully before bear canisters were mainstream. I try to talk about bears on my channel to educate those new to the outdoors.

[@CalNeva]

It was only a matter of time Amani; liked what you had to say.

[@wildernesswithamani1027]

Right on. I'm heading into an area of north Yosemite in a couple of weeks where there always seem to be bears up there on most trips I've made over the decades. For this trip, I don't want to see anything like that! No bear videos!

[@CalNeva]

@@wildernesswithamani1027 Neither of us want to make any bear or big puddy cat videos!

[@FishingTime_LetsGo]

Have you ever tried to carry a bear on your back LOL - Stay safe out there👊🎣👍

[@wildernesswithamani1027]

I do my best to keep them off my back!

[@johnmach4985]

My wife and I encountered a mother bear and her two cubs on a hike in the Trinity Alps some years ago. The cubs were playful. It was neat to see them. We just hoped they wouldn't run toward us and thankfully they didn't. A neat experience, but pretty risky at the same time.

[@wildernesswithamani1027]

That can be sketchy. I had a cub running down the trail following us once in north Yosemite as we tried to back out slowly and when mama stood up and I was getting seriously worried! I will never forget that stress! We were fishing at the end of a large fallen tree in Laurel lake and the bears were sitting on land at the other end watching us fish. They had us pinned out there for a half hour or so. I finally threw a tout as far as I could down the bank and the mama and cubs went after it so we had a second to try to slip out of there. That's when one of the cubs decided to follow us! That was back in the late 80's.

[@Mooniemagic21]

Yes! Love this. Never try to outrun a bear. Give them space; and if they attack, fight with everything you got!

[@wildernesswithamani1027]

That's pretty much the only play you got! I have a clip on my wildlife playlist "the bear that came to dinner" where for the first time in many bear encounters over the decades I thought I might actually have to make contact with the animal. It's interesting if you haven't seen it and want to check it out. I suspected it was trying to scare me away from my stuff so it could raid it and it sort of played out like that but it got tense. I stood my ground and was pretty much ready to go with that thing if it came down to it. At the end of the clip you see the bear walk down and jump up on the table but I got everything clear by then. Heading into north Yosemite backcountry in a couple of weeks and I always run into bears up there. I hope if I do they all just run away!

[@marktaniguchi7901]

That is an amazing brush with nature. Good catch with the camera. I tell ya, you've got a chance to get a job with National Geographic. Thanks for the share.

[@wildernesswithamani1027]

Right on. I was just happy they ran away immediately. When the cubs go up a tree and the mom just stays there ready to fight I am never feeling good about it!

[@peterbedford2610]

I've run across bears three times in 30 years. Every time, they take off in the opposite direction from me

[@wildernesswithamani1027]

That's the best outcome. That's usually what happens. When the cubs go up a tree and mom stands there ready to go it's always tense. I prefer to deal with the fast retreat. The clip "The bear that came to dinner" I have on my wildlife encounter playlist was the first time out of a couple dozen bear encounters where I thought for the first time I might have contact with the animal. That bear was aggressive and not going away. I calculated that it was trying to bluff me away so it could get my stuff and that seemed to play out. I'll be heading up into north Yosemite in a couple of weeks to an area I've gone to about ten times in my life. Probably 7 of those trips included an encounter with one or more bears. It's where they relocate problem bears from the valley. At least, that's where they used to put them back in the 80's and 90's when I used to go up there a lot. The fishing is good so I'm willing to deal with it!

[@JoeD.294.]

People might see bears lumbering around but they are very fast once they start running.

[@wildernesswithamani1027]

Really fast!

[@wedge3577]

you got lucky

[@wildernesswithamani1027]

It all worked out. Soon as they saw me they just took off. I'll be hiking far into some heavy black bear country in North Yosemite in a couple of weeks. I can do without bears on that trip but I've rarely had that luxury in this area over the decades. One of the bear clips on my wildlife encounter playlist is from up there.

[@JohnMatrixOfficial]

Do you carry any type of bear spray or a firearm with you?

[@wildernesswithamani1027]

I don't carry spray. Sometimes I have my gun but that's usually for protection against dangerous humans! Often have it in remote areas with road access. Especially during growing season. If you have ever walked into a grow camp or encounter sketchy people out in a remote area who seem to be out there likely to resupply a camp it will change your whole perspective on things! As far as black bears go, I don't worry that much. If it were grizzlies, I think you would be crazy to be out there with no gun!