Black bear gnaws on kayak as woman fails to convince bear to leave with pepper spray

Not much sympathy for kayaker Mary Maley after she posted this video of her encounter with a bear.

Maley questions the bear for gnawing on her kayak, demands it leave her kayak alone, thanks the bear for doing that and pepper sprays its face.

Here’s Maley’s version posted on YouTube about the encounter. bearkayak3

During a solo kayak trip, intended to go from from Ketchikan, Alaska to Petersburg, Alask, a bear attacked my kayak. This incident occurred outside of a US Forest Service cabin in Berg Bay, Wrangell District, Alaska. I had just carried my tent, food, and all my gear into the cabin to dry while I went on a 4 mile hike that begins just behind the cabin. I heard something outside as I ate my lunch, and well, I never got to go on that hike. This video is taken 5 minutes after the attack began, he continued to gnaw on it for another 5 or 10 after the video ends.

First Maley calls out Bear, Bear Leave my kayak alone. Then pepper sprays the bear. When the bear backs away from Maley and the pepper spray and turns back to the kayak, the kayaker calls out again.

“Bear! Bear! You’re breaking it. You’re breaking my kayak. Why are you doing that? Why are you breaking my kayak?

Then it sounds like Maley breaks down crying.

“What am I going to do? Why are you breaking my kayak? Bear! Stop that.”

Maley resorts to pleading with the bear and then tries to reason with the bear.

“Please stop. Goshdarnit. Why are you doing that? Please stop, bear. It’s the end of September. Why are you  here? You’re supposed to be asleep.”

There’s been more than 3,500 comments on Maley’s video, most of it condemning her for trying to reason with the bear. (Could this be a hoax? Who knows…)

Finally, Maley posts on YouTube the bear left.

Shortly after the bear left and I drug the kayak back to the cabin door step. Then I swam to the S/V anchored in the bay. They did not have their radio on and I feared I would be stranded! The German flagged S/v Caledonia took me and my things to Wrangell where I am trying to repair my kayak now.

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Peg Fong is also in recovery from newspapers

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