Videos show a large bear chasing a skier down a mountain at a ski resort in Romania. The videos, filmed from up above from a ski lift, show the bear gaining on the skier as the man tries to escape. The skier was able to distract the animal and was not harmed, according to a Romanian news report. As the bear chases the skier down the mountain, it is initially unclear if the skier knew it was behind him.
According to Digi24, a Romanian news outlet, the incident happened on Saturday, January 23, 2021, on a ski slope at a resort in Predeal. The mountain resort area in Brașov County, Transylvania, Romania, is the highest town in the country and it is a popular tourist destination.
You can watch videos of the ordeal below:
The Videos Show People on a Ski Left Yelling Warnings to the Skier, Who Threw a Backpack to Distract the Bear
According to a local newspaper, Ziarul de Iasi, concerned skiers on a ski lift yelled out to the man to warn him that the bear was behind him. The people in the chairlift, some of whom also filmed the incident, yelled out for the skier to go faster.
“Come on, the bear is chasing you!” they yelled, according to a translation of the Romanian video. They added, “God forbid, don’t look back!” Another video shows the bear chasing the skier from another angle:
According to Digi24, the skier was able to trick the bear and get to safety by throwing his backpack away from him. Ion Zaharia, a local police spokesperson, told the news outlet that the bear was distracted by the backpack and began examining it.
Digi24 reports that officials at the ski resort received three calls about the presence of the bear on January 23.
Officials at the Ski Resort Said They Might Try to Find & Relocate the Bear Away From the Slopes
GettyA bear is pictured next to her cubs at a bear observatory next to Tusnad touristic resort in central Romania.
According to Digi24, authorities will be trying to locate the bear to move it away from the ski resort area. There have been other bear sightings at the Clabucet slope, where the incident occurred, in recent years, according to the news organization.
Last year, a bear was spotted in the same area and was safely relocated, officials told Digi24. In other cases, authorities have used ATVs to track the bear down and the noise from the vehicle scared the animal away and deeper into the forest.
According to the National Wildlife Federation, it is a myth that bears can’t run downhill. The NWF writes on its wildlife facts website, “If you’re being chased by a bear, don’t run downhill! Bears can run as fast as a horse (35 mph), and they can do it uphill, downhill, and everything in between.”
The NWF adds, “A bear can outrun you no matter what, so if you see one in the wild do not try to run away from it. Instead, you should stand tall, wave your arms, and talk loudly but calmly. Back away slowly, but stop moving if the bear follows you.”
A Fake Video of a Bear Chasing a Snowboarder Down a Mountain Went Viral in 2016
According to Snopes, some skeptical social media users believed the video of the bear chasing a skier down a mountain was fake. That is because a similar video of a bear chasing a snowboarder went viral in 2016 and it turned out that it featured computer generated imagery.
The video, which you can watch above, was uploaded by YouTuber Kelly Murphy, who claimed she was chased by the bear while snowboarding in Negano, Japan. Murphy captioned the video, “OMG! I was going through my snowboarding videos and I found a bear chasing me!!! I nearly got eaten!!!”
After the video racked up thousands of views, Snopes debunked it, saying that the video contained stock footage and audio. But the video of the bear chasing a skier down a mountain in Romania in 2021 is very real.
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