Man’s encounter with Albertan black bear goes viral

Of course it went viral. Bruce Allan endured an extended encounter with a black bear on the Matcheetawin Discovery Trails near Fort McMurray, Alta. And he caught the whole thing on video. Allan and a fellow trailblazer remained relatively calm as the bear stalked them. They encouraged the fairly small beast, which appeared to be a cub, to please walk in a different direction. Eventually, the bear grew preoccupied with climbing small trees and gave up its slow pursuit. Allan and his counterpart turned tail and sprinted to their waiting vehicle in a nearby lot.

YouTube commenters are famously unthoughtful, and rarely a source of wisdom. But the most-liked comment this morning captured the moment:  "Your life was basically a coin flip; rejoice and give thanks."

A brief warning: The video features occasional offensive language.