Rock climber captures bear attack on helmet mounted GoPro

A rock climber in Japan managed to film the moment that a bear attacked him as he was descending after a climb. The incident happened on Mount Futago near Chichibu City, Saitama Prefecture, Japan. The climber was wearing a GoPro Hero 10 attached to his helmet and captured the whole ordeal in first person close up.

All seems well at the beginning of the video as we watch the climber carefully descend from his climb, his breathing steady. Suddenly a black bear appears almost out of nowhere.

The climber is visibly shaken and goes into fight or flight mode. He shouts and pounds his fist, managing to stave off the first attack. Fortunately, he has kept a grip on the jagged rock face throughout. But the bear isn’t finished yet.

The bear surges towards the climber again, who has the presence of mind to use his karate training to land a firm kick in the bear’s head.

After this, we finally learn the reason behind the attack as we see a bear cub nearby. The bear was presumably a fierce mama merely protecting her cub, and the climber, unfortunately, stumbled into their vicinity.

“Looking back at the video, it seems that the bear attacked me to protect the cub. I invaded bear territory, but since they attacked me, I defended myself with self-defense,” he says. “My hands were scratched and cut from desperately holding on to the rock. My right wrist was slightly sprained after hammering the rock and the bear,” he adds.

After the incident, the anonymous climber ascended to a safe position on the summit to recover and let the bears retreat. He was then able to make the descent bear-free.

Black bears are generally less aggressive than their grizzly counterparts, but with some exceptions. Any mother bear defending her cubs can be unpredictable and should never be approached. Similarly, you should avoid getting between a mother and cub. Saying this, bear encounters and particularly attacks are extremely rare, but if in bear country it’s as well to learn what to do and consider carrying bear spray.

[Via New York Post]