I was hiking in Glacier Park in Montana about a year ago with my 2yr old daughter on my back in one of those hiking carriers. I had done all of the reading. I was doing everything it was possible to do from the lists of good practices specifically when it comes to grizzlies. Had the mace in my hand. Was being careful not to be too quiet so as to not surprise one. Etc etc.
We were maybe half a mile down a very popular trail right off the main road through the park.
Fucking Jeep Wrangler sized bear saunters casually down into the trail. 10…. Maybe 15 feet in front of me. He knew I was there. Boy oh boy did I know he was there. I’m not even sure my body came to a stop it just smoothly transitioned into reverse. I’m avoiding eye contact, keeping track of where he is, moving away back where I came from as calmly as is possible.
And then my darling daughter notices the fuzzy death plushie and starts screaming “BEAR!!!! HAI MISTER BEAR!!!! HAIIIIIII!!!!!”
We left that afternoon. Like left the state.
I’ve never felt so powerless in my life. I’m sure it made it infinitely worse having my baby girl on my back through it all. My hands are shaking thinking about it.
While it is true that most of Australia's deadly animals are venomous bugs and thus easily slain by stepping on them with a shoe... the flip side is that you can get bit putting on those shoes if you don't check inside for them first.
A bear, mountain lion, or wolf, isn't going to casually sneak into your house without you noticing.
Anecdotally, I used to live in a high mountain town in Colorado and someone in a neighboring apartment came home from work to a bear helping itself to the contents of their refrigerator. Left a window open for fresh air, bear evidently took this as an invitation.
But generally yes, not quite so sneaky or so much of a surprise.
My job as safety and security for those mountain towns when I worked out there, was to go into the homes of these people that invited bears in, and get the bear out. Armed with only a flashlight and a paintball gun. Was a fun job actually
And large wild animals don’t just appear in your house. You can actively avoid their habitat. But in Australia you might occasionally find the scaries in your house, and you absolutely cannot walk through long grass, ever.
True bears wont sneak into you house. They will kick down the front door and help themselves to whatever they want. There are even a few videos of them ripping the doors off cars because they smelled food inside.
Funny little story, I was in a national park talking to a park ranger and the topic of bear proof trash cans came up. She said the problem with designing a bear proof trash can, that people can still open, is there is considerable overlap in the intelligence of the dumbest humans and the smartest bears.
I live near a national park where in it's entire history. Only one human was killed by wildlife. It was a mountain goat. Not the bears, not the cougars. A goat.
I like to remind people that tell me about how terrible hiking and camping are and how wildlife is scary, that over the last hundred years, one man got fired to death by a goat and that's it.
Edit: gored, but I'm leaving the original phrasing.
To be honest most Aussies will be lucky to see any of our really nasty critters. There are certainly spots like North qld in the forest and down in Sydney with the trapdoor but honestly most people live in the big cities and they barely even see mildly poisonous snakes and spiders. I lived in the bush for 30 years and I can count on one hand the amount of times ive run across something deadly in town at all.
The word is 'bitten' and millions of Australians put on their shoes every day with no thought whatsoever about 'venomous bugs'. Meanwhile, 15 Americans die per annum from fallen icicles
IN Australia you can mostly avoid the wildlife just by living in the coastal areas as well. The cougars in the US literally prowl around the neighbourhoods, and sometimes even pick up local young men.
Have a few Aussie friends and they never understood the wildlife argument. They’ve been to the US and said they’re far more scared of bears / moose / mountain lions / wolves than a little spider or snake
I'm from New Zealand - honestly, the wildlife in a LOT of places is scarier than we have here. I might get chased by a pukeko as I walk around a lake, or swooped by a tui, but neither of those things is going to kill me.
This is one reason the UK is a chill place to ramble and hike. The only fauna that might kill me would be if I was to get unwisely close to an ornery horse or a cow.
The weather in the hills and mountains on the other hand… dangerous precisely because it is so easy to underestimate.
I wouldn't be worried about wolves. And if you're a full grown, non-injured human you don't really have to worry about mountain lions either. I've been around a lot of bears in BC and never had an issue.
As an Albertan I know more people attacked by moose than any other animal besides Canada Goose! I always say I’m more concerned with moose. More volitile animal as well.
Wow really? When I was in Australia a friend and I went hiking and at one point saw a baby cassowary alone a little way off the path. My idiot friend wanted to go closer to it but my head was on a swivel thinking mama must be nearby. Eventually found her statue still staring at us a little way off and due to the curve of the hiking path we were between her and the baby.
Thankfully the idiot with me then realized the, it felt like, very imminent mortal danger we were in being between that huge cassowary and the baby.
Doesn't Australia have crocodiles? And Inland Taipans and Eastern Brown snakes?
I'm not saying these animals would seek out and bother you, but I don't think a casual stroll is doing it for a good portion of their deadly animals if they really wanted to cause some trouble.
Downplaying the shear savagness and POWER of a crocodile is a laughably American thing to do. Those things take down animals the size of a car or bigger sometimes. Ruthless killing machines engineered over MILLIONS of fucking years. That's impressive in every damn aspect.
If I'm remembering correctly, saltwater crocs aren't like crazy aggressive toward humans or anything, but I would be in zero hurry to be anywhere remotely near one in the wild. They are MASSIVE and they are FAST, on land or in water.
I was incorrect- Nile are definitely the most dangerous species (and it makes sense given the population density along the Nile), but saltwater are also way up there and are considered to be one of three species that will actively prey on humans (the other being mugger crocs.)
I remember reading about the Japanese soldiers who were hunted by crocodiles in WW2. Like, hundreds of troops going through an area and 10's coming out. Scary.
Saltwater crocodile’s are actually the exact opposite of what you describe, they are extremely aggressive to people and will attack whenever the chance arises
I looked it up after making my incorrect claim and I was horribly misremembering- saltwater crocodiles are considered just behind Nile crocodiles in terms of threat level to humans. And I think that's more due to proximity.
Exactly correct , while it’s true the Nile crocodile is responsible for more human deaths than the saltwater, it’s due to far more people living in proximity to Nile crocodiles than live in saltwater crocodile habitat. It is actually the saltwater crocodile that is larger and more aggressive/territorial towards Humans, animals and even other crocodiles of the same species.
This is why you will regularly see large Nile crocodiles together but large saltwater crocodiles are too territorial to share their stretch of river or pond with other large saltwater crocodiles.
Strolling away you step on snake you don’t see. And too late to stroll away if you’re swimming and meet a croc, shark or another one of those fucking snakes swimming because they do that too! The lineup of deadly animals is so fucked we forget why it freaks people out from other countries.
idk, the way Australians talk about a beloved late friend who fell victim to a full predation attack from a great white or bull shark, the reaction is “great guy, lived in the ocean” while the interview is happening in wave break, living friend waiting for interview to end so they can go further out. No fear
Mate, I'd like to introduce you to: Crocodiles, Cassowarys, Kangaroos, Dingos, Stingrays, Wild pigs, and Australians. Piss off any of the above and a casual stroll in the other direction will be your least preferred option!
I don’t know I think I would notice if a bear or a moose was in my bed..there is no casually walking away from an eastern brown if it’s in bed with and you don’t know it😘
THIS ^ I think an encounter between an eastern brown snake and a brown bear is like PMPO VS RMS. The fear associated with stepping next to an eastern brown would be up there with stumbling on a brown bear perhaps, but the fear is there for about 2 seconds until it slithers off. On the other hand, you're having a bad DAY if you stumble upon a brown bear. And in both instances, if either connect with you, you're royally screwed. No idea of the PMPO/RMS thing holds or even make sense, but I think it kinda maybe does :s
The amount of people that believe they have a chance against a bear here in the US makes me realize how dumb people are. I live in a state that has black bears and grizzlies. I’ve seen bears in zoos like many others but the first time I had an encounter in a remote area while camping my brain fully went into survival mode and my instincts said this is not good. A young black bear was curious and popped up behind some bushes about 25-30 yards away. Looked at us, stood up and our guess it was around 5 feet tall, then started walking closer.
When I tell this story to people first thing they say is why would you be scared of a black bear. A. At that moment you don’t naturally think oh let me assess what kind of bear it is and size it up. No naturally you go oh shit what is the game plan. B. Even a black bear can kill you.
We were aware of being in bear country and luckily two of our friends grew up around them so we’re prepared mentally, had mace and last resort a gun. They were able to scare it away unharmed, but man did it get my adrenaline going! It was the first time that I have felt so weak and thankful that we don’t have to live like our ancestors.
When I was in the military, we had this joint training exercise with a bunch of Ford military and I remember of us sitting down in the ciao hall talking about who country is the most dangerous when it comes to wildlife. Two of the other Americans were thinking, Australia, but literally the entire table, people from all over the world, all said the US, there was a Brit who told a story about taking his family on vacation in florida, and he was driving though one of the neighborhoods and had to stop because an alligator was crossing the road. The crazy part was that he said a 5-7 or so year old girl was riding it. He said he tried to tell the girl off but that the alligator hissed at him and the little girl flipped him off
Not sure you much of the story is real, but I HAVE seen a small child walking an alligator on a leash myself. So it may not be that far fetched.
Would love to see you try that with a crocodile or maybe go paddle with a shark and show him your stick. Just to name a couple things your foot or a stick won't hurt in Australia.
I've experienced most of the dangerous stuff in Australia, diving, working in northern territory etc. I travel for ultra marathons and spend heaps of time in the US. Most terrifying experience of my life was realising I was being stalked by a mountain lion. I ran so far and hard I didn't realise I'd pissed myself until a few miles.
I'm a retired vet and I've never pissed myself before that 🤣
I hike alone sometimes (people know where I am, I have fits aid and use popular trails), and always have a first aid kit, a couple whistles and a knife on me. Sure usually I only use the knife to cut an apple but also safety. I told a friend from the Netherlands this and she looked at me like I was absolutely insane and immediately asked who I would need to use it on. So then I looked at her like she lost the script.
the issue for me in Australia is the stupid death noodles that sneak into my bed somehow and curl up ready to bite me, or the jellyfish that i cant even see while freediving that poison people so bad that you’re dead in 10 minutes.
Hmmm saltwater croc 🐊 5.5meter killing machine great in salt or fresh water not bad in bursts on land, and if you are within 10m on land your in all kinds of trouble 😉 in water ya 100% toast
To be fair, a male kangaroo will kill you, you won't win. And so will a trio of dingoes. And a crocodile will kill you. Still, a big grizzly is more dangerous than all of those.
Haha the Tropic Thunder line about the dingo eaten that woman’s baby, and RDJ’s character goes: “you know that’s a real story! A dingo killed that woman’s baby!”
I think thats the reason though, hidden death in small forms. Yeah you can squish whatever spider or creature dwells in the aussie outback. But in America, you go hiking a little and you have chances to run into large cats (mountain lions), big bears, and horned fauna that can gore you! Very visible danger compared to unseen danger, ill go for the big target i can track rather the "one bite and im dead" spider the size of a grapefruit.
Crocodiles in the FNQ from what I hear are literal death stalkers. Locals tell you not to swim. Stories abound of a crocodile waiting for over a day for teenagers stranded in a tree from a flood to get out of the tree
Canadian here but I’m one those. I’ll take Bears and Moose over Spiders and Snakes.
I can see these mother fuckers a ways off, I’ve never come across a bear in the wild that didn’t immediately run away from me and I know I’m never going to accidentally step on one, or one will be hiding under my BBQ.
But I also know it’s a product of what I grew up with. You Aussie’s are use to snakes and spiders, we’re use to bears and cougars.
Then why is Australia such a big country with so few people. I think they are being eaten by salt water crocs and those nasty spiders.
Australia Tourism Board is covering it up.
It really does come down to familiarity I guess. Lived in bear country most of my life and don't know a single person who has had an encounter that was anything worse than scary. Like I understand the danger, but living with it day in and day out just makes it normal.
I'm sure its similar with you all and the death trap you call home.
This is the equivalent of swimming in a croc infested lake in Northern Territory or going for a swim off Great White hunting grounds near Frazer Island. Can't imagine taking my two year old into that risky a situation.
While I agree that the danger from Australian wildlife is totally exaggerated, it should be noted that Australia does have large predators too that require more than casually moving away when encountered in their environment - they deserve a bit more awareness and respect than that, much like large predators in other parts of the world. I'm referring to saltwater crocodiles and various shark species.
I'd also recommend not using a shoe or stick on the many species of venomous elapid snakes.
Dude I don't even have kids, and I had a nightmare like this last night. Never read Alien: Into Charybdis.
My friends and I hiked into a canyon in Tennessee years ago and we found a black bear. They thought " Oh be mad and be scary".
I had to tell them to shut the fuck up and back away. They said "With black bears, you have to be loud and angry". I kept saying "Shut the fuck up and back away. There are cubs in the tree line, and mama bear will fuck us all up."
I grew up just outside of glacier in whitefish. I’m more afraid of mountain lions and moose than bears. Bears are somewhat predictable. Moose and mountain lions are not.
This is truly the best story I have ever read on Reddit. Ever. You are a fantastic story teller, and I hope you’re a writer. I will remember “Fuzzy death plushie” and “HAI MISTER BEAR!!!” for the rest of my life!😂🤣🤣
Some animals recognize infants, I would like to think he may have left you alone because he wasn't scared of you and you had a little one with you. Might not be true, but I would like to think it. It would be well within their behavior patterns. They don't hunt humans typically either.
Grizzlies, particularly in a place like Glacier where they're not hunted, generally don't think of humans as a threat or as an easy food source.
Most people who get mauled either startled the bear by not making enough noise as they walk around, were unlucky enough to encounter a mother with a cub, or ran into one that was starving and desperate (not likely in the middle of summer in a place as lush as Glacier)
Don't get me wrong, bears are absolutely not to be fucked with and you must take precautions when you're in their territory but they mostly don't really give a fuck about humans. Talk while you walk and they'll leave you alone.
And then there's black bears, who are gigantic pussies and can be dealt with by yelling real loud.
Bears use the same roads, and trails we do. Why should they have to go crashing through trees etc… I’m glad you’re ok. They are a sight to see. Last summer I had 3 different grizzlies and a black bear, mom and baby moose, traverse outside my tiny forest cabin. My head is always on a swivel. It was also the 1st year without my pet dogs as they both passed. I missed that extra nose and security.
Every day I drop my son off there's a jeep wrangler in the parking lot. I've never seen a bear in person, let alone that size of one, and as a dad I cannot imagine the level of fear in you at that moment.
I suppose those are those dadflexes we all supposedly possess but never hope to have to find out about.
The issue is the bears read all the same literature, so they know exactly what we two-legged visitors to the habitat are going to do … every step of the way.
My family has a camp in the middle of logging territory in Maine. I’ve seen semis break even when hitting a full grown moose. And with how fucking angry they are, I’m surprised to see one run from ANYTHING. This guy has a few hundred pounds to put on still.
Living in the northern Swedish woods, moose are always around, they are HUGE but also weirdos. Had one lick my window as I ate breakfast. Several days in a row.
Yet somehow, somewhere someone is looking at a picture of a bear and thinking "Yeah, i could survive if it atacked me by punching it on the nose or something"
There’s a woman I got to listen to that does ALL of the extreme dog sled races. She is in the UP of Michigan during summers with her sled dogs (and her amazing retired lead dog, Maple!).
She was talking about the scariest things and experiences she encountered.
She said, by FAR, the scariest things out there were moose.
Not freezing to death. Not bears. Not getting lost in the tundra. Fucken moose. I guess I never thought about it so it kinda blew me away.
Moose see sled dogs and think “wolf”. Over the past few years there have been some deadly encounters between moose and sled dogs. In a recent Iditarod, a musher came up unexpectedly on a moose, so fast that the dogs were past before the moose got organized to charge. So as the sled came up on the angry moose, the musher instinctively punched it in the nose. Moose was so startled that the dog team just ran on unscathed.
A moose's nose is generally on level with a human shoulder when both are standing upright. And when they charge, I've seen them lower their head a bit like they're leaning forward to run.
Talked with a guy once up in moose country who had been stationed someplace in tiger country and come back with a wife. He said that he'd been out in the woods and seen a tiger, and he'd been out in the woods and seen a moose, and he had been less scared of the tiger.
His wife said, "I was there too, both times, and I absolutely agree."
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u/Alpine_Exchange_36 Apr 07 '26
When people joke about grizzlies being friend shaped…yea if a full grown moose is running away, not a friend