Canadian man says he pleaded with black bear during attack: 'You don't have to do this'
Well, perhaps we can teach bears English so that they will understand our pleas if ever we have unfortunate encounters with bears. Or perhaps we can learn to speak bear.
Well, I'm glad the guy turned out okay, and it's kind of a funny story.
But can animals really understand us when we talk to them?
A Canadian man fighting for his life begged his assailant to let him go, but his pleas went unheeded -- which is probably because black bears don't understand English.
Brandon Lattie, 27, was on a walking trail in British Columbia at the Ferguson Lake Nature Reserve on Wednesday night when he says he spotted the bear, which began to chase him.
Lattie told CBC News he ran and jumped into a small lake, not expecting the bear to follow him.
Lattie said he noticed "there was at least a foot or two of water above me" and pushed himself "back up to fight back."
It was then, Lattie said, he resorted to begging.
"You don't have to do this," he said he told the bear. "You don't want to do it."
CANADIAN MAN'S POCKETKNIFE HELPS HIM SURVIVE GRIZZLY ATTACK
A family said they were nearby and saw Lattie running away from the bear in the lake. Lucky for Lattie, the family's dog began to bark, distracting the bear and giving the 27-year-old a chance to break free and swim to a dock.
"It could have been a whole lot worse," Lattie said. "As soon as I got hit, I just thought, 'OK, this is where I die. This is where my head gets chewed apart.'"
Well, perhaps we can teach bears English so that they will understand our pleas if ever we have unfortunate encounters with bears. Or perhaps we can learn to speak bear.
Well, I'm glad the guy turned out okay, and it's kind of a funny story.
But can animals really understand us when we talk to them?