National Park Service Shares A Hilarious PSA On What To Do And Not To Do In Case Of A Bear Encounter
Interview With AuthorWhat would you do upon meeting a 1000-lb adult bear right in the middle of your idyllic stroll in the park? Select one: you’d curl up in a fetal position, you’d run the heck outta there like Forrest Gump (wrong answer!), or you’d sacrifice your friend you’ve known since high school who is the most annoying brat on the planet.
The US National Park Service is now officially advising against the last (and probably the most tempting) option. In a hilarious Facebook post, the Service shared a detailed PSA on what and what not to do when encountering a bear. From NOT running and NOT climbing a tree to, most importantly, NOT pushing down a slower friend, their advice is both practical and all too funny.
A whopping 52K people on Facebook seem to be loving their sense of humor, but I see it as genuine advice on friendship. ‘Cause even if it has run its course, that doesn’t mean you can say farewell to it and let Mother Nature do her job.
The National Park Service has issued comedic, yet practical advice on what to do in a bear encounter
Image credits: National Park Service
The National Park Service is known for being very active on social media, both Facebook and Instagram. With 1,337,047 and 2.8m followers respectively, the Park Service accounts have been praised numerous times for having a great sense of humor.
Matthew Turner, who is the voice behind the funny captions and witty wisdom bites on National Park Service’s Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram, told Bored Panda in an interview that they use a “safety with a smile” approach when it comes to educating people.
The Park Service has previously released this funny poster
“Our goal on social media is to educate people as we welcome them, showcase the best of what the parks have to offer, while also encouraging visitors to recreate responsibly, respect park resources, don’t get too close to wildlife, and take time to enjoy a park,” Matt explained.
But in order to do so, “we often infuse a little ‘safety with a smile’ as a way to package information in a more engaging and entertaining way.”
This is precisely what the public might not expect from a government agency, but Matt is convinced that “it grabs their attention and gets them thinking.”
And it’s not the first time they’ve said friendship is the most important
Image credits: National Park Service
When it comes to encountering a bear, visitors should be prepared for potential encounters with wildlife no matter where they go.
Matt explained: “While seeing a bear, bison, moose, or any animal in the wild is an exciting moment, it is important to remember that wildlife in parks are wild and can be dangerous.”
Most wild animals’ behavior is unpredictable and although rare, attacks on humans have occurred. “Being vigilant and knowing what to do in such encounters is the most important thing to remember,” concluded Matt.
And many seemed to love their sense of humor
The witty social media specialist also invites readers to check out more general bear tips right here and take a look at NPS’s collection of safety graphics with their signature sense of humor.
So the next time you see a bear, bear with the Park Service. Because nobody wants you to get harmed while taking a pitch-perfect shot of the wild bear’s snout.
That's like the Billy Connolly story about the 2 lads photographing lions in the Serengeti. The lions spots them and one of the lads slips out of his boots and into his trainers. The other lad says to him 'You'll never outrun a lion in those'.The lads replies 'As long as I can outrun you I don't mind'
My grandaunt loved cycling and she went for long rides outside the village each day. One day she came back pale and shivering. She had met a bear on the road. She panicked, forgot everything she was supposed to do and... jumped off her bike and started making sounds like a cuckoo. There she stood, shivering, squeaking "cooocooocooo" for a good 15-20 minutes until the bear for tired of her and walked away. It took years before I could great her without laughing.
That reminded me of a story I heard from the head mistress at elementary school when I was a kid. (No bears involved though) So apparently they were living in New York at the time (they’re originally Swedish), and her friend had been out grocery shopping one day. On her way home, a man had snuck up on her in an alley and tried to rob her. Shocked and scared, she didn’t know what to do so while clutching her grocery bags to her chest, she yelled at him in Swedish “RÖR INTE MINA POTÄTER!!” (“Don’t touch my potatoes!”). Apparently the guy got so freaked out that he ran away. It’s been almost 20 years since I heard that story, and it still cracks me up. I wonder if that would work on bears to..🤔
Load More Replies...You move sideways and snap your hands together like pinchers and the bear thinks "What kind of weird crab is that? What's it doing here?! WHY IS IT SO LARGE?!" And while they're puzzling over all the questions you make your escape. Zoidberg noises optional.
I understand it's bad to push your friends to the floor, just to help you escape from the bears. As a compromise, Is it acceptable to push a random stranger down or an old lady who's out for a stroll?
I'm lucky we have no bears in Australia but I think this is hilarious the people who wrote this need to get a raise
Add if you did have bears in Australia, I'm sure they'd be poisonous...
Load More Replies...When I visited Alaska the rangers advised us to make noise to make our presence known to bears, so they gave us lanyards with whistles and bells. They also told us to keep an eye out for poop to alert us to bears in the area. They said we would know black bear poop because it had twigs and berries in it. And we could recognize grizzly poop because it had whistles and bells in it.
I've grown up around black bears and for the most part they're pretty skittish. I've seen them chased off by small dogs before. Thought we were letting the dog out to pee and suddenly the corgi was running off a bear. That poor bear peeled out of the driveway as if a monster was after it. And then we were running and yelling after the dog. Probably was pretty amusing if anyone was able to see it. Grizzlies on the other hand, no thank you. Glad they aren't here.
Most of my life, I've been living in black bear territory. I agree. No grizzlies! Black bears, okay, there's a chance... Grizzlies? Not even!
Load More Replies...Soo, people sacrificing their friends has been a recurring problem? :p
A bear is usually curious not threatening...... they do not seek to kill.... for fun, they are not "people".
Another they should have added: Wear light or bright colored clothing when there may be bears around. Bears don't have great eye sight, so you're wearing dark colored clothing, to them you look more like another bear. Males bears never take kindly to another bear and mama bears will go to DefCon 1.
One bear, with cub behind her, looked at me one day as we crossed the same road on parallel paths. We both froze. She grunted. I squeaked, "Oh sh*t!" and that seems to have settled the matter. Apparently, prey animals do not say "Oh sh*t!" in Human. *whew*
If I met a bear in a park it would make international news... Bears aren't common in England...
At first I thought the "pushing your slow friend" thing was a joke but they repeated it so many times it makes me wonder if someone actually did it
That's like the Billy Connolly story about the 2 lads photographing lions in the Serengeti. The lions spots them and one of the lads slips out of his boots and into his trainers. The other lad says to him 'You'll never outrun a lion in those'.The lads replies 'As long as I can outrun you I don't mind'
My grandaunt loved cycling and she went for long rides outside the village each day. One day she came back pale and shivering. She had met a bear on the road. She panicked, forgot everything she was supposed to do and... jumped off her bike and started making sounds like a cuckoo. There she stood, shivering, squeaking "cooocooocooo" for a good 15-20 minutes until the bear for tired of her and walked away. It took years before I could great her without laughing.
That reminded me of a story I heard from the head mistress at elementary school when I was a kid. (No bears involved though) So apparently they were living in New York at the time (they’re originally Swedish), and her friend had been out grocery shopping one day. On her way home, a man had snuck up on her in an alley and tried to rob her. Shocked and scared, she didn’t know what to do so while clutching her grocery bags to her chest, she yelled at him in Swedish “RÖR INTE MINA POTÄTER!!” (“Don’t touch my potatoes!”). Apparently the guy got so freaked out that he ran away. It’s been almost 20 years since I heard that story, and it still cracks me up. I wonder if that would work on bears to..🤔
Load More Replies...You move sideways and snap your hands together like pinchers and the bear thinks "What kind of weird crab is that? What's it doing here?! WHY IS IT SO LARGE?!" And while they're puzzling over all the questions you make your escape. Zoidberg noises optional.
I understand it's bad to push your friends to the floor, just to help you escape from the bears. As a compromise, Is it acceptable to push a random stranger down or an old lady who's out for a stroll?
I'm lucky we have no bears in Australia but I think this is hilarious the people who wrote this need to get a raise
Add if you did have bears in Australia, I'm sure they'd be poisonous...
Load More Replies...When I visited Alaska the rangers advised us to make noise to make our presence known to bears, so they gave us lanyards with whistles and bells. They also told us to keep an eye out for poop to alert us to bears in the area. They said we would know black bear poop because it had twigs and berries in it. And we could recognize grizzly poop because it had whistles and bells in it.
I've grown up around black bears and for the most part they're pretty skittish. I've seen them chased off by small dogs before. Thought we were letting the dog out to pee and suddenly the corgi was running off a bear. That poor bear peeled out of the driveway as if a monster was after it. And then we were running and yelling after the dog. Probably was pretty amusing if anyone was able to see it. Grizzlies on the other hand, no thank you. Glad they aren't here.
Most of my life, I've been living in black bear territory. I agree. No grizzlies! Black bears, okay, there's a chance... Grizzlies? Not even!
Load More Replies...Soo, people sacrificing their friends has been a recurring problem? :p
A bear is usually curious not threatening...... they do not seek to kill.... for fun, they are not "people".
Another they should have added: Wear light or bright colored clothing when there may be bears around. Bears don't have great eye sight, so you're wearing dark colored clothing, to them you look more like another bear. Males bears never take kindly to another bear and mama bears will go to DefCon 1.
One bear, with cub behind her, looked at me one day as we crossed the same road on parallel paths. We both froze. She grunted. I squeaked, "Oh sh*t!" and that seems to have settled the matter. Apparently, prey animals do not say "Oh sh*t!" in Human. *whew*
If I met a bear in a park it would make international news... Bears aren't common in England...
At first I thought the "pushing your slow friend" thing was a joke but they repeated it so many times it makes me wonder if someone actually did it
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