Watch: Man in Flip-Flops Becomes Hero, Slaps Bear Right in the Face to Protect Woman and Pet Dogs
Editor’s Note: Our readers responded strongly to this story when it originally ran; we’re reposting it here in case you missed it.
This man might have saved his dogs’ lives.
A TikTok video shows a man confronting a bear in an outdoor enclosure, taking on the animal in a situation that could’ve been dangerous for several of his pet dogs and a woman accompanying him.
The video was uploaded by TikTok user anthonymooren174 last month and has gained over 768,000 likes and 14,000 comments.
@anthonymooren174 #bearslap #getback #gangster #loudnoise #neighbor #protecting #puppies #god #nottoday #fyp #viral #viralticktok #bear #slap ♬ original sound – Anthony mooren
Two puppy-sized dogs flee from an unclear threat in the start of the video, which seemingly occurs in a barn or shed-like structure.
It’s not immediately clear why the pups are so afraid — until a bear pokes its nose into the visible field of a surveillance camera. A man holding a leash makes loud noises and yells at the creature in an attempt to get it to back down.
A woman following the dog walker backs away from the scene after the bear reveals itself — leaving bear-deterrence duties to her partner.
The dog walker doesn’t hesitate to strike the animal directly on its snout when it advances, deterring it from further aggression.
Eventually, the man picks up a shovel, striking it against a metal garbage can lid in a bid to project dominance over the creature.
He eventually leaves the barn. It’s not clear if the bear left the structure through another exit or was contained by the dog walker, but his gaze appears to follow movement away from the area.
Viewers of the video hailed the hero’s reaction to the bear.
“That is the most ALPHA thing I’ve ever seen,” commenter Markis Hunt wrote.
“This is the thing I like to imagine [I’ll] do if this ever happened to me,” Desi Cristian Adame wrote.
The bear’s challenger is seemingly wearing flip-flops in his confrontation with the animal — far from the ideal footwear for an encounter with a bear.
Bearwise recommends making loud noises “from a safe distance” to intimidate the animal in the event of a backyard confrontation with a black bear.
If the creature advances on you, it’s recommended to fight — with any means available at your disposal.
The creature’s size suggests it’s a black bear — the most common bear in North America.
Black bears thrive on scavenging food that humans have left behind. Proper food security is considered key to deterring the unwanted presence of these animals.
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