Watch A Menacing Grizzly Realize Its Overmatched When 50+ Massive Cows Show Up

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Being the massive apex predators that they are, grizzly bears don’t have many predators. In fact, they rarely have to worry about other animals at all. A video filmed by a family visiting Yellowstone National Park starts with one of these beautiful creatures standing on its hind legs. 

Standing up gives bears a better field of vision, improved hearing, and improved sense of smell than when they are on all fours. In order to see what is around them, they just try to stand up. Particularly cubs frequently rise up only to look over the grass.

The bear starts to run through a lush meadow in a scene that’s fit for a postcard! The question is – what is this bear running toward… or from? We continue to watch the bear trot through pastures, eventually leading to a herd of cows! 

It’s safe to say these cows don’t want the grizzly bear anywhere near their home. They quickly run as a herd toward the grizzly bear to warn it to leave. Cows are unpredictable animals, and despite farmers’ best efforts, everything from the weather to disease to increased stress levels can make them unhappy and consequently hostile.

There is no territorial behavior displayed by cattle. Nonetheless, they arrange themselves in a disciplined way within their allotted space, particularly in the pasture. The herd protects each other from predators as it does in wild herds.

Mooove Out Of Here 

The adorable grizzly bear takes note and runs away from the cows after realizing it’s outnumbered. A comment on the popular upload points out how this interaction is similar to another. 

“This is interesting. It reminds me of how the cape buffalo in Africa defend themselves against lion attacks. When they all charge as a group, the bear gets put on the defensive because he doesn’t know how to deal with that many cows at once.”

Although cows don’t seem aggressive, like most other animals, they will protect what’s theirs when needed. Another person mentions how this likely isn’t the first time these cows have seen a bear. 

“These cows look like they’ve had a lot of experience with predators before, especially bears, wolves, and cougars. The cows in my area have never seen a bear or wolf and probably would react very differently.” 

Thankfully, the young grizzly bear gets the message and leaves the cattle alone. Because it was outnumbered, the bear likely would’ve lost a battle against so many cows. Take a look at the fascinating footage below! 

Is it Normal for Cows to Attack Bears?

Cows dwelling among bears learn what to expect from the fierce predators – even knowing when to determine that “today is not the day” for a bear to bring down one of the herd. Just as cape buffalo defend themselves and members of their herds in Africa – domestic cattle have the same means and instincts. A bear should think twice before trying to snatch a cow from a grazing herd – because it makes them angry and mad cows are dangerous!

Cattle have been observed – tails stiff with anger – stomping bears with all of their weight, landing powerful kicks, working as teams to wedge them between two sets of horns and chasing them with the full force of the herd. Is it normal for cows to attack bears? The answer is yes.

Another reason to change your pre-conceived notion of the docile cow is this: statistically, cows pose a greater threat to people than sharks or bears. Cattle kill 20 people a year in the United States, while fatal shark and bear attacks average about two annually per species.