This Woman Is Lucky To Be Alive After A Mama Bear Charged At Her While She Was Taking A Picture

Well, you wouldn’t think that a sight-seeing trip to Yellowstone National Park would result in charges and court dates, but that is exactly what happened to Samantha Dehring of Carol Stream, Illinois.

Have you ever heard that you aren’t supposed to get close to a mama bear and her cubs? Yeah, I think just about EVERYONE has heard this little bit of advice.

But, leave it to this young lady to not heed the warnings.

Samantha was taking in the gorgeous Yellowstone sights in the Roaring Mountain section of the park, when her tour group came upon a mama bear (known as a sow) and her cubs.

I don’t have any idea what she was thinking (I would have stayed my butt in the car), but Samantha thought it would be a good idea to get as close as possible to mama, and take a picture.

I mean, it would be a cool shot — but not one I’m willing to die to get on film.

Samantha walked right up to the knee-high brick divider that separates the road from the forest, and proceeded to take a picture of the little bear family.

Of course, mama bear was having none of that, and she charged at Samantha.

Do you know how LUCKY she was that she didn’t end up as bear food for those cubs?!?

The incident was caught on film, and it has now resulted in charges and a court date for Ms. Dehring.

You see, Yellowstone has rules in place to protect the wildlife in the park.

Park regulations require visitors stay at least 300 feet away from bears and wolves.

Billings Gazette

You can see in the video, Samantha was CLEARLY not 300 feet away from the bears.

Sure, she has a cool video to show the world, but she totally just about almost died to get the shot.

The National Park Service was tipped off by someone who had seen the photos on Samantha’s Facebook page, and she is now being charged with “feeding, touching, teasing, frightening or intentionally disturbing wildlife and violating closures and use limits.”

If you don’t grasp the danger that Samantha was in, let me just enlighten you.

According to the Billings Gazette, in June of 2019, a visitor to the park had a chunk taken out of her thigh by a black bear.

In July of this year, a woman was pulled out of her tent and killed by a grizzly bear (hence the reason I don’t go camping).

[Also] In July of 2020, rangers in Yellowstone killed a black bear after it wandered into a campsite and bit a woman on the arm and head.

Billings Gazette

Just a few days after Samantha’s encounter, a hiker in the park was “significantly injured” by a bear attack. It probably wasn’t the same exact bear, but still a bear, none-the-less.

Let this be a lesson to you, my friends. Stay to heck away from bears and other wildlife, whether you are in Yellowstone or even in your own backyard!

To see the video that shows Samantha getting up close and personal with the bear, you can go HERE.