“Don’t poke the bear” is a saying a lot of people have heard. But it turns out, if you get too close to a bear, it might try to poke you.<\/p>\n
That’s the lesson one person learned, according to a popular social media video.<\/p>\n
The short clip<\/a> was posted by Instagram account Tourons of National Parks <\/a>(@touronsofnationalparks). In it, a person walks up to a roadside railing to get a good glimpse of a grizzly bear. The bear was mere yards away from the rail and down a small hill.<\/p>\n As soon as the person speaks, however, the grizzly charges directly at them. A second or two of chaos ensue as the bear continues its charge, and the video then cuts off.<\/p>\n “The video was sent like this \u2026 just use your imagination for the rest,” the caption chillingly added.<\/p>\n The exact location of this video and what happened after it ended are unknown. But even if this didn’t occur in a national park, the person’s actions were enough to qualify them as a “touron” \u2014 a portmanteau of tourist and moron \u2014 in most commenters’ eyes.<\/p>\n “Nature is NOT meant to be played with,” one commenter wrote.<\/p>\n The National Park Service offers several tips<\/a> in case you do encounter a bear in the wild. The park service urges people to stay calm, keep their distance, and avoid surprising the bear \u2014 say, by speaking loudly and suddenly around it.<\/p>\n But those warnings haven’t stopped many people. Social media is full of examples of people who get perilously close to these massive animals.<\/p>\n Sometimes, it’s people getting out of their cars to take up-close photos of bears on the road. Other times, it’s people who want to feed bears.<\/p>\n Fortunately, in these examples, neither the people nor the animals appeared to be hurt. Whether provoked or not, however, interactions can sometimes lead to euthanization. That can be avoided, as the park service advised, by giving animals space.<\/p>\n As for this interaction, commenters were sure that the person in this video learned their lesson.<\/p>\n “I bet he never thought that grizzly could move so fast,” one commenter wrote.<\/p>\n “That’s why they’re called tourons,” another added.<\/p>\n Get TCD’s free newsletters<\/a> for easy tips to save more, waste less, and make smarter choices \u2014 and earn up to $5,000 toward clean upgrades in TCD’s exclusive Rewards Club<\/a>.<\/p>\n