Several hikers on a trail in Glacier National Park in Montana became terrified when a hungry grizzly bear started sprinting right toward them.
The hikers did what most people would probably do when faced with a charging grizzly bear: They panicked, turned and hurried down the trail, some trotting in the opposite direction.
Turns out, the grizzly bear wasn’t after the humans. It was after a different kind of prey.
In video Micah Lynn Hanson obtained from a witness and shared on Instagram, you can see what it was chasing if you look closely along the trail.
A ground squirrel can be seen running up the trail toward the people, making it look as if the bear was after the hikers.
“As you can see, we learned AFTER the terror of having a young grizzly charge
directly toward us…that he was actually far more interested in chasing chipmunks and squirrels than us humans,” Hanson wrote in her post.
“So apparently, we thought we were about to become bear dinner for absolutely no reason. Still, learned a VERY valuable lesson: I desperately need to work on my flight response.”
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Casey Anderson, a self-described award-winning filmmaker, explorer, naturalist, youtuber, explained in a Facebook post that Montana has had a poor crop of berries, citing a late frost kill and dry year as reasons.
“So bears are looking for alternate food sources…and sees this ground squirrel and is hyper-focused on getting its next meal,” he wrote.
Anderson said it was understandable that the people panicked and hurried down the trail because that’s human instinct. Shouting loudly at the bear would have been a good alternative, as well as bear spray.
As for viewing wildlife at a safe distance, it’s hard to know how far the hikers were from the grizzly bear and whether they even knew it was nearby.
The National Park Service prohibits visitors from being within 100 yards of bears, and cautions them to maintain a safe distance. Grizzly bears can run up to 40 mph, so it is advisable (obviously) to be vigilant when in bear country.
This article originally appeared on For The Win: Watch: Grizzly bear runs toward terrified hikers, but look closer
