These Bikers Had an Almost Deadly Encounter With a Grizzly

Bikers and bears don’t mix. Bears don’t really mix with anything for that matter. So, when one came charging for a couple of men on their bikes, the footage went viral.

The encounter was posted on YouTube on Monday by Dušan Vinžík, who was biking at Malino Brdo Ski and Bike Park in Slovakia with his buddy on some wickedly fast trails when what appears to be a Eurasian brown bear comes dashing toward them. It’s unclear if the bear is looking for dinner or is just giving them a scare. Either way, the dudes were definitely lucky to survive.

Malino Brdo claims to be the longest bike park. At 6.2 miles long, with ten different trails to choose from, it ranks as one of the top bike parks in the world, which may or may not rank higher now that there are obstacles like giant mama bears to dodge.

Bears are plentiful in the region, as a travel article published in 2009 in The Guardian notes:

No one knows for sure how many bears live in the Tatras, but current estimates suggest about 800. Thanks to enlightened protection policies in the 1930s and the creation of Tatra national park in 1948, the bears here have survived the hunting that decimated other populations in Europe.

Before the Middle Ages, the Eurasian brown bear diet consisted of 80 percent meat, which fell in later centuries to 40 percent by the 15th century, according to Michel Pastoureau’s The Bear: History of a Fallen King. The modern Eurasian brown bear eats just 15 percent meat, but it will eat sheep whenever possible. All of which is to say, this bear might have eaten them.

As of Wednesday, the video has gone viral around the world, amassing some 4.5 million views on YouTube. Curiously, the video’s description has this not-so-subtle advertisement for the park, perhaps for thrill-seekers:

Top Bike Park on the SLOVAKIA

http://www.bikepark.sk