A grizzly encounter, recorded in its entirety, shows a close call

A woman in Alberta, Canada, had an unexpected run-in during her morning dog walk, with a persistent follower.

EDMONTON, Canada – A woman’s morning walk with her dog in the scenic Canadian Rockies this week took an unexpected turn after a grizzly bear galloped towards her, stood on its hind legs and continued to move within several metres as the woman shouted, grunted and slowly retreated.

On a gravel driveway about 90m from camp, she picked up her dog’s leash, coffee mug in the other hand, to turn back when she spotted a grizzly and pressed record on her phone.

“This was probably a younger grizzly bear that was very curious about the dog,” said Jelmer de Blois, a hiking guide who operates Wilderness Escape Adventures in the area.

The woman shouted or made noises at least 40 times to keep the bear at bay, and the grizzly started towards her almost as many times.

When the woman escaped, she ran to a tent where previous clients of de Blois’ were staying. She remained there for 15 minutes until the bear began to chase a moose, de Blois said.

He eventually connected with the woman and posted her video online. By June 27, the post on the Wilderness Escape TikTok account had nearly 30 million views.

“It’s pretty common that somebody sees a bear and it’s just a little further away – I’ll take a picture or a video,” de Blois said. “She just kept it running.”

The bear pauses at times but then continues to draw nearer. It appears to focus on getting closer to the dog, dashing towards the animal as the owner slowly walks away.

The encounter lasts about one minute before the bear ducks behind a gate and the woman reaches parked cars and runs away. The grizzly appears to give chase as the video cuts off.

“We are in bear country, and I always warn my clients that there are a lot of bears in the area,” de Blois said. “You have to know what you’re doing, and you always have to carry bear spray.”

The day of the encounter, Alberta Forestry and Parks, which oversees the area, issued a warning describing the encounter, and said on June 25 that the nearby Tryst Lake parking area was closed until further notice because of bear activity.

“A Grizzly bear exhibited persistent, dog-focused behaviour during an encounter with a hiker and their leashed dog,” the advisory said. “The bear made repeated approaches, closing to within approximately one metre.”

The advisory offered advice for how to avoid surprise run-ins with bears, including travelling in groups while making noise, keeping pets leashed and carrying bear spray.

A rule of thumb when approached by a grizzly be