Girl Gets Hugged and Sniffed By a Bear, Remains Unbelievably Calm

I have never seen a bear encounter quite like this one. Three girls were hiking when they were confronted by a black bear who sniffed and hugged one of them. Her response showed nerves of steel.

Watch this amazing bear behavior here. Make special note of how calm the girl is who is getting the close encounter with the bear.

My favorite YouTube comment about this video came from Mickey Bitsco:

Never play poker with that woman.

No joke. There is a key moment near the end that shows why you never run from a bear unless you have absolutely no other option. When the girl tries to slowly pull back, the bear starts swatting at her leg. Considering how a bear claw can tear through skin, she's very fortunate to not end up injured.

Notice also that the women try to avoid eye contact. The National Park Service Bear Safety website mentions that you need to treat black bears differently than grizzlies or brown bears. If they attack, you fight back and do not play dead. These women did everything they could to not appear threatening or as prey. It also notes that bears are unpredictable and avoiding contact is the only way you can know that you're safe.

Fortunately, this is just a curious bear video where no one was injured including the bear. It could have ended so much worse.