We are told to be “strong and courageous” but what if you’re facing a bear in a life and death situation that’s when it would be very difficult to not fall victim to fear but that wasn’t the case for one man in Florida. Walter Hickox a Daytona Beach resident was having a normal evening with his two dogs, but that all changed when a black bear attempted to intrude on Hickcox’s porch.
As the black bear started to enter the porch, Hickcox immediately sprung into action to save his dogs from being attacked by the black bear. Ring Security footage captured the dramatic event and showed Hickcox wrestling the bear off the porch and then proceeding to use a chair to push back the bear away from the porch.
Watch the moment it happened here:
https://twitter.com/BanginTweets_/status/1484397299644129283
In a statement to WFTV, Hickcox was quoted saying:
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“Not a lot went through my head at the moment, other than what’s going to happen if he gets past me and into the house where the rest of my dogs and my wife was at“.
Hickcox was not seriously injured during his scuffle with the bear but did suffer some minor scratches. The dogs were also unharmed from the black bear.
Hickcox’s bear story wasn’t the only bear encounter that made the news cycle either. An Amazon worker from California also had to face a bear while delivering packages.
Joshua Morgan a delivery driver from Amazon was on his daily route in San Bernardino County but what happens next is quite amazing. Morgan pulled up to a property that had a Ring doorbell system and electric gates. As Morgan walked up to the Ring camera speaker the owner of the house warned Morgan there was a bear on the wall.
Instead of running for his life like the average person would have done, Morgan stretched out his hands and made himself appear bigger to the black bear. After seeing Morgan stretch out the black bear jumped off the wall and scurried away and amazingly Morgan proceeded to deliver his package to the residence.
Watch the truly awesome video here:
Home security footage shows the moment when an Amazon delivery worker came across a brown bear outside a home in California. The home’s owner can be heard warning the delivery driver on the speaker.
Luckily, the bear went on its way without incident. pic.twitter.com/BKQ9ASHacn
— NowThis (@nowthisnews) January 24, 2022
According to the Daily Mail, Morgan did the right thing when encountering a bear:
The driver did the right thing on encountering the bear as advice tells you to stay calm and remember that most bears do not want to attack you – they usually just want to be left alone.
Bears may bluff their way out of an encounter by charging and then turning away at the last second, but it is important to never make a sudden movement and always speak in low tones.
If you see a bear in the distance, you should respect its need for personal space and give it as much room as possible. Making yourself appear larger than the animal can also work as a deterrent – and moving to higher ground can aid that.
In life, you are bound to face some bears, maybe not the animal but rather a difficult situation that looks like it’s coming your way full speed, and there’s no way to stop it. When this happens just always remember “the Lord thy God is with you wherever you go”. Jesus is always with us so, no matter what life throws your way you’ll never be facing it alone.