Chapter 294 - 291: Shocking Bear for a Whole Year
Chapter 294: Chapter 291: Shocking Bear for a Whole Year
Goulbin crouched down, pushed aside the underbrush, and stared at the large hole in front of him, his face a picture of shock as he involuntarily shouted out loud.
The hole was wide enough for an adult to enter with ease, and it truly looked like a suitable place to live…
Amidst his excitement, a bolt of lightning suddenly flashed through Goulbin’s mind, causing his thoughts to freeze.
Wait, what kind of thing would live inside?
The hole was so large, could it be a bear?
His companion, who had also come to the same realization, turned deathly pale and immediately began to pull Goulbin away.
The two of them had run here by accident; they had never imagined that they would stumble upon a bear den right under their feet!
“Go, let’s get out of here fast!”
Goulbin didn’t need to be told; he took off running as fast as his legs could carry him, surprising his companion who quickly followed suit.
The two of them ran several hundred meters in one breath, only daring to slow down after making sure nothing was coming after them.
Goulbin leaned on his knees, gasping for air, hardly able to believe that he had just run into a bear den; talk about bad luck. He looked at his companion, “fuck, was that a bear den?”
A bear den?
The audience, who were following the two, were taken aback, not understanding why they were suddenly talking about a bear den. Associating it with the pair’s recent frantic running, they immediately began frantically @’ing Master Fang.
“Hmm?”
Bi Fang, who was nearby looking for any overlooked hericium mushrooms, was startled and opened the wildly vibrating window only to see the screen full of “bear den.”
A bear den?
Master Fang’s expression turned serious in an instant, and he immediately asked the staff to send over the video of the two discovering the big hole. After watching it for a while, his eyebrows almost knotted together.
It was actually a bear den!
And judging by the size of the entrance, it was very likely a brown bear!
This thing is not something you can compare with a black bear; it’s much bigger in size!
It’s one of the largest mammals in the Carnivora order on land!
First pigs, then bears, followed by tigers.
Bi Fang still felt shaken by his last encounter with a black bear, believing that luck played a major role, and even now, he felt he didn’t stand much of a chance against a black bear that was around 1.6 or 1.7 meters, let alone a brown bear that typically measures over two meters!
“Every year as winter approaches, the brown bear starts to prepare its den in places where there are many fallen logs and branches, where the cold wind is weaker, on the sunny side. They tend to live in large tree holes or crevices in rocks and sometimes dig burrows on dry mounds in swamps. They pad their dens with dry grass, leaves, or moss using their front paws.”
Bi Fang briefly described the characteristics of brown bear dens, then pointed at several features of the cave on the screen for a one-to-one comparison; they were almost identical!
“However, these two were quite alert, not considering going inside to have a look. I don’t know whether there’s a bear in this den, but whether there is or not, moving away immediately is always the best decision.
When brown bears hibernate, loud noises, the intrusion of predators, and rising temperatures can wake them up. Since the metabolism of hibernating brown bears does not decrease to very low levels like in animals that truly hibernate, these sleeping bears could wake up at any time, and on warmer days they may even become active again and come out for a stroll.”
Bi Fang breathed a sigh of relief as well, and without concerning himself with whether there were more hericium mushrooms nearby, he got on his motorcycle and headed toward the two men.
He couldn’t guarantee that the brown bear hadn’t set its sights on them, so it was better to play it safe and keep a close watch on them.
These fellows, each one of them really doesn’t make life easy!
“Brown bears hibernate starting from the end of October or early November, and it lasts until the following March or April. Normally, each individual occupies a den alone except for the female bears, who share with their cubs under three years old.”
Before entering their dens, they would circle the entrance, then jump in, back in, or they would deliberately mess up their own tracks to prevent predators from finding their caves and to better conceal themselves.
It was now March, and with the weather warming up, it wouldn’t be impossible for brown bears to wake up early.”
The show began at the end of February; six days passed, and it was already early spring in March.
Many people have heard about methods to deal with bears to some extent, but knowing is one thing and being able to do it is another; without having a direct confrontation, it’s hard to understand that trembling sensation in your legs.
It’s not something that a couple of visits to the zoo can change; only those who have faced it in reality can skillfully apply this knowledge.
Luckily, Bi Fang was well prepared before setting out, carrying not only a tranquilizer gun but also bear spray.
When facing a high-attack, high-defense, high-health predator like the brown bear, even a tranquilizer gun might not work well. A shot might not penetrate their tough skin and flesh, and by the time the tranquilizer takes effect, a brown bear could kill you three times over.
On the way, Bi Fang didn’t forget to enlighten his audience.
“In Glacier National Park in Ugly Country’s Montana, a couple once encountered two young grizzly bears, that is, brown bears, on a mountain trail.
Although the bear cubs paid no attention to these two humans, their mother immediately jumped out and watched the two humans with alert eyes. The couple did not retreat calmly; instead, they glared at the mother bear and put on a show trying to scare it away.
The bear mother became furious and immediately charged at the two humans who were evidently showing aggression and possibly meant harm to her cubs.”
Luckily, the couple had pepper spray designed for bears on them. At the critical moment, the husband took out the spray and spritzed it on his wife’s face…
[???On his wife’s face?]
[Master Fang, you didn’t misspeak, did you? Is there something wrong with that object?]
“I didn’t say it wrong; he didn’t spray the bear, he sprayed it on his wife’s face… The pepper spray designed for bears is more potent and powerful than that designed for humans.
His wife immediately fell to the ground, rolling around with her hands over her face, screaming heart-wrenchingly. The mother bear was stunned by the scene before her, she halted her charge, appeared troubled for a while, and eventually decided to leave with her two cubs…”
When the old professor first told Bi Fang this case, his reaction wasn’t exactly the same as the audience today, but it was very similar.
This unconventional method actually worked, and to this day, he couldn’t figure out what was going through the husband’s mind when he took out the spray.
[Bear: This shocked me for a whole year]
[Humans are fierce, ruthless even to their own kind]
[My god, that’s just outrageous. If it weren’t for Master Fang telling this story, I’d definitely think it was made up!]
[So, is this technique replicable?]
Contrary to everyone’s expectations, Bi Fang shook his head.
“I don’t know. The couple in the story actually confused the methods for dealing with black bears and grizzly bears. Their escape involved a lot of luck, and the situation was special since it was a mother bear with cubs.
I think the likelihood of replication is very low, and everyone better not try it lightly. I just wanted to tell you all that it’s best to bring the spray when going camping; that’s the truly useful thing.”
Bi Fang twisted the throttle to the limit, speeding over a mound of earth toward the two green dots on the map.
Meanwhile, back at the original bear den, a huge paw print appeared at the entrance.
The massive creature shook its head, sniffed at the entrance, and a strong scent hit its nostrils.
It didn’t quite understand why, after just a short exit, the scent of another creature was at the entrance.
However, feeling the hunger in its belly, the massive creature shook its head and ran off in the direction the scent was leading.
In early spring, food was scarce.