Watch a Guy Exploring a Cave Encounter a Sleeping Bear
I don't know who this guy is, but he and I would have reacted to this situation totally differently. He just shared a video where he was exploring a cave and ran into a sleeping bear.
According to the video description, this happened in a cave near Oroville, California.
He said (and I quote) "It looks like it's brown and furry". He then proceeds to move the light back and forth in the vicinity of the bear. By this time, my backside would be quickly (and quietly) getting out of that cave instead of doing play-by-play. Did I mention this happened in California?
After leaving the cave, he tells a wonderful story about how Native Americans and bears and what they used to do when they ran into bears in caves. Yes, that's sarcasm. He also mentioned that he thought he could see a little bit of breath coming out of the bear. The fact that he was in there long enough to see that probably means he was in there too long. Again, this happened in California.
Oh, well. The video ends with no bears and humans getting harmed. It could have gone the other way if the bear woke up just a few seconds too early.
For the record, according to Alaska Fish and Game, bears in hibernation aren't always sleeping. It just means they can go without eating or drinking or urinating during that time. The exception is if a potential snack hikes into the cave with a flashlight.