See This Climber Fight a Bear Bare Handed In Scary Encounter

So now there is another hazard for you to add to the list of things to be wary about when rock climbing! As the video at the bottom of this page shows, you can be on what looks like the most remote mountain peak you can find – and still not be alone. This is what happened to this climber.

An Encounter With a Bear on MT. Futago

This footage was captured by a body worn camera and published by the climber. It films the crossing of a rocky ridge at Futago Mountain which is in Chichibu City, Saitama Prefecture, in Japan. Seemingly out of nowhere, a black bear appears and attacks the climber. He fends it off with shouts, hand gestures, a hammer fist and a front kick.

We learn from the video notes that the bear probably attacked him because it was a female defending a cub. These are the circumstances where female bears will become most aggressive and, to be fair, he was in her territory. The climber explains in the video notes that he usually wears a bear bell but had muted it as he was descending as it was so noisy. He is a fan of mixed martial arts and so that is why he probably used hammer fists rather than punches.

After this encounter, the bear family went away and he continued with his climb.

Black Bears in Japan

The video notes do not say which type of bear this was but as it was taken in Japan, it is likely to be an Asiatic black bear as there are only two bear species in the wild in this country. The Asiatic black bear (Ursus thibetanus) is also known as the Asian black bear is a medium sized bear who lives mainly in wooded areas. They have a glossy black coat and many of them, but not all, have a crescent moon-shaped mark on the chest in a pale color.

These bears are omnivores and in Japan their diet is made up of mainly acorns in the fall and bulbs and buds in the spring. However, they also eat small mammals, birds, carrion and may even attack livestock.

Even though they have a reputation for being hostile to humans, most attacks occur when they are cornered or when they are protecting their cubs.  

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