Park rangers shoot bear with paintball gun after it stalked hiker for 30 minutes
- 2 months ago
Park rangers were forced to shoot a bear with a paintball gun - after it stalked a hiker for half an hour.
Megan, 42, who didn't wish to reveal her last name, came across the black bear six miles into an eight-mile trail in the Great Smoky Mountains in Tennessee, USA.
Megan, an experienced hiker and owner a hiking tour company, said she knew something wasn't right as bear closely followed her for about 30 minutes before she was able to lose it and get to safety to call for help.
But when she returned to the trail to meet help, the large black bear was still around.
Luckily, one park ranger and two law enforcement officers quickly arrived.
They attempted to scare the animal away by shouting but the beer remained unfazed, even taking a step towards them, prompting one of them to shoot it with a paintball gun.
Megan, who often hikes near her home Asheville, North Carolina, said: "That is not a normal way to behave for a black bear.
"As a hiker and guide I know bear safety protocol."
From the beginning the bear seemed unusually interested and bizarrely unafraid of Megan.
She said: "I was walking on the trail and I heard a rustling behind me.
"When I turned, a bear came up the mountain to get on the trail behind me. It seemed very interested from the beginning.
"I knew you don't turn your back and you don't run. So I turned and I saw a bear staring at me and it huffed at me.
"I started walking backward with my arms in the air."
The bear followed Megan for the next 30 minutes and just as she thought it was gone, it would appear again.
She desperately applied all the techniques she knew to avoid bear attacks, but none worked.
Megan said: "Just as I thought it was gone I heard the bear behind me again.
"That's when I got scared because I realised it was following me on purpose.
"I was shouting at it and waving my arms. It just seemed to not be concerned.
"At one point, I screamed at it and it ran down the mountain a bit so I kept going but then I heard it behind me again."
At any one point, the animal was just 10 feet away from Megan - forcing her to walk sideways to not turn her back on it.
She said: "My feelings were very hyperaware. I was thinking 'What are my options? How can I get out alive?'"
After some time, Megan remembered that she had packed some snacks for the journey and decided to use them to distract the animal.
She said: "I realised I had some trail mix in my backpack.
"At one point I got enough distance to get into my bag and throw it away."
While the bear was distracted, she ran up a nearby mountain to get a signal so she could call for help.
She said: "When I got away and got on my phone I broke down in tears."
Megan was instructed to return to the trail to meet with help.
But when she returned, the bear was still there.
She said: "It was like a movie. I was getting back to the trail and I saw the bear.
"At the exact same moment I heard the park rangers shouting for me.
"They come up shouting at it.
Megan, 42, who didn't wish to reveal her last name, came across the black bear six miles into an eight-mile trail in the Great Smoky Mountains in Tennessee, USA.
Megan, an experienced hiker and owner a hiking tour company, said she knew something wasn't right as bear closely followed her for about 30 minutes before she was able to lose it and get to safety to call for help.
But when she returned to the trail to meet help, the large black bear was still around.
Luckily, one park ranger and two law enforcement officers quickly arrived.
They attempted to scare the animal away by shouting but the beer remained unfazed, even taking a step towards them, prompting one of them to shoot it with a paintball gun.
Megan, who often hikes near her home Asheville, North Carolina, said: "That is not a normal way to behave for a black bear.
"As a hiker and guide I know bear safety protocol."
From the beginning the bear seemed unusually interested and bizarrely unafraid of Megan.
She said: "I was walking on the trail and I heard a rustling behind me.
"When I turned, a bear came up the mountain to get on the trail behind me. It seemed very interested from the beginning.
"I knew you don't turn your back and you don't run. So I turned and I saw a bear staring at me and it huffed at me.
"I started walking backward with my arms in the air."
The bear followed Megan for the next 30 minutes and just as she thought it was gone, it would appear again.
She desperately applied all the techniques she knew to avoid bear attacks, but none worked.
Megan said: "Just as I thought it was gone I heard the bear behind me again.
"That's when I got scared because I realised it was following me on purpose.
"I was shouting at it and waving my arms. It just seemed to not be concerned.
"At one point, I screamed at it and it ran down the mountain a bit so I kept going but then I heard it behind me again."
At any one point, the animal was just 10 feet away from Megan - forcing her to walk sideways to not turn her back on it.
She said: "My feelings were very hyperaware. I was thinking 'What are my options? How can I get out alive?'"
After some time, Megan remembered that she had packed some snacks for the journey and decided to use them to distract the animal.
She said: "I realised I had some trail mix in my backpack.
"At one point I got enough distance to get into my bag and throw it away."
While the bear was distracted, she ran up a nearby mountain to get a signal so she could call for help.
She said: "When I got away and got on my phone I broke down in tears."
Megan was instructed to return to the trail to meet with help.
But when she returned, the bear was still there.
She said: "It was like a movie. I was getting back to the trail and I saw the bear.
"At the exact same moment I heard the park rangers shouting for me.
"They come up shouting at it.