Mary Maley was on a solo 107-mile kayak trip in Southeast Alaska when she encountered a black bear (Ursus americanus). She had just transferred her tent, food, and gear to a Forest Service cabin on the shore of Berg Bay, where she intended to spend the night. While eating lunch in the cabin, she heard a noise outside and went to investigate.
What followed was a fascinating bear encounter where Ms. Maley deployed her bear spray. Fortunately, both she and the bear emerge unharmed.
The video she recorded went viral and I watched, fascinated, like almost 3,000,000 people across the internet. One commentator described her pleading with the bear this way: “Holy cow, it feels like someone poured acid in my eardrums.”
Her whiny approach to bear deterrence left a lot of people rooting for the bear. But I can sympathize with someone far from civilization watching a bear devour her $2,295 kayak.
We can always learn from these encounters and I want to share with you a scientific analysis of the incident. Popular Science Magazine interviewed several bear researchers to try to explain what happened. The also examined Ms. Maley’s behavior and explained what she did right, and what she could have done better. I found their analysis just as fascinating as the video. Here is a link to the article:
WHY WAS THIS BEAR CHEWING ON A KAYAK?
By the way, if you were unable to finish watching the video because of her plaintive whining, you are not alone. 😀
More Animal Videos (and Bears) on NatureOutside
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You were right. 30 seconds into the video I was pulling for the bear to eat HER.
Michael, fortunately both emerged unharmed. She did not get eaten and the bear did not get indigestion! 🙂
LOL. The bear left it alone. and come to you. You sprayed him with pepper spray. So! to get even with you he ate your kayak. Then you call him back to you. O-well to you.
So true! 🙂