Bear Politely Ignores Woman Yelling at Him to Stop Eating Her Kayak
“Bear! Bear! You’re breaking it! You’re breaking my kayak! Why are you breaking my kayak?! Bear! STOP!”
On a recent solo Kayak trip in Alaska, Mary Maley encountered this hungry and curious bear while she was finishing up lunch. After thanking the bear for not eating her kayak, she tried to pepper-spray him in the face.
So the bear ate her kayak.
This was unfortunate for Maley, who didn’t have any other way of getting out of Berg Bay. Very understandably, she had a complete and total meltdown. Less understandably, Maley posted her entire freakout to YouTube.
She writes:
I had just carried my tent, food, and all my gear into the cabin to dry while I went on a 4 mile hike that begins just behind the cabin. I heard something outside as I ate my lunch, and well, I never got to go on that hike. This video is taken 5 minutes after the attack began, he continued to gnaw on it for another 5 or 10 after the video ends.
Just a really great bear, doing bear things.
To Maley’s credit, she pulled herself together after the bear finally left, and swam out to a ship in the bay to get help:
Shortly after the bear left and I drug the kayak back to the cabin door step. Then I swam to the S/V anchored in the bay. They did not have their radio on and I feared I would be stranded! The German flagged S/v Caledonia took me and my things to Wrangell where I am trying to repair my kayak now.
It’s still unclear why the bear was there in late September—bear, you’re supposed to be sleeping!!!—and why he chewed on the kayak when it’s not even food!!! and doesn’t even taste good. Bear! Argh!