An experienced hiker in Utah escaped a scary encounter with a black bear and her cub on a trail only to run straight into a moose instead.
But Greg Rothman, who was running on the Desolation Trail in Cotton Canyon at the time of the double whammy of wildlife encounters, believes the moose may even have played a part in helping to stop the bear from chasing him.
Rothman shared his experience with a local TV outlet after reports of another hiker being attacked by a bear in the nearby Mill D North Fork Trail on Monday. That hiker was left with puncture wounds in his arms and had to drive himself to hospital. The bear in that incident was euthanized.
Rothman’s encounter happened a few days earlier.
“I basically ran smack dab into a mother bear on the trail,” says Rothman.
He started to act big and slowly back away – as you’re advised to do in bear encounters if it looks like the bear might approach – but then he discovered a complication that added to the potential danger.
“I turned around and saw a baby cub 15 to 20 yards behind me – at that point my stomach just dropped,” says Rothman.