A Missouri man recently shared video of a bear he encountered in Mark Twain National Forest and showed exactly how you safely deal with seeing an apex predator in the wild.
Have you noticed that there have been an increasing number of bear sightings in Missouri? That’s exactly what Missouri Department of Conservation predicted earlier this year. As people and bears get closer together, it’s important to understand how you handle a situation like this.
Based on the video description, this man came upon this large animal in the Mark Twain National Forest recently. Watch what he does closely because it’s almost textbook the right way to do it.
The fact that this guy spoke to the bear in a calm but firm voice shows he understands the backcountry. The last thing you want is to surprise a bear. That’s when attacks are more likely to occur. Many times a bear noticing you from a distance will look closer out of curiosity, but rarely instigate an attack unless you’re near one of their food sources and/or have cubs nearby.
The area this guy saw the bear in is located approximately here.
Crazy to think we’re seeing more and more bears just to the southwest of the St. Louis area. But, when you have beautiful forests that are seeing more bears making a habitat, these moments will continue to happen.
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Because the regulation of exotic animals is left to states, some organizations, including The Humane Society of the United States, advocate for federal, standardized legislation that would ban owning large cats, bears, primates, and large poisonous snakes as pets.
Read on to see which pets are banned in your home state, as well as across the nation.