Utah family with three young children comes face-to-face with black bear while hiking
(KUTV) — Imagine encountering a black bear while hiking on a trail with your three young children.
That’s what happened to Brighton Peachey, her husband and their children between the ages of one and six.
The encounter happened on a popular trail in British Columbia, Canada last week and the family captured it on cell phone video.
The encounter happened shortly after the family entered the trail head when they realized a black bear started following them.
Brighton can be heard on the video saying to her husband “okay, he's following you babe.”
“It just wasn't fazed by us and kept following us,” Brighton said.
Brighton said the bear was blocking the way back to the parking lot, so they kept walking up the trail.
“Which was, like, a little nerve-racking when there's a bear following you, but it was kind of our only option,” Brighton said.
Brighton said the bear followed them for about 20 minutes for more than a half a mile but never got aggressive.
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But the thought of the worst-case scenario crept into her mind adding “I just kept thinking if this bear attacks how am I going to cover my children and protect my children?”
Brighton is a former University of Utah healthcare worker is now an outdoor family lifestyle influencer, so she is uniquely equipped and prepared for how to act in an encounter like this.
“I knew we just had to stay calm, and I had to keep reminding my kids like stay calm, don't run that will just like spook the bear and make it worse,” Brighton said.
The bear eventually trailed off and Brighton said she teaches her children to respect the wild, be safe around wildlife and this encounter won't change the way they experience the outdoors because to her.
“You're in their territory and even if you do all the things you're supposed to do they might not care they still might just want to keep coming the direction they're going or come after you so just a really good reminder to be cautious when you're out there,” Brighton said.
The Utah Division of Wildlife Resources said bear encounters happen periodically each summer in Utah, and are most common near campsites, but will sometimes wander into neighborhoods, but rarely happen on trails.
DNR has a list of tips for wildlife encounters, including bears, which can be viewed here: Utah Division of Wildlife Resources
