Photo: @bakedlikepie/Tik-Tok
She went full mama bear against a real mama bear.
By Isaac Serna-Diez — Written on Jun 02, 2021
A viral Tik-Tok video showing 17-year-old Hailey Morinico going full mama bear to save her dogs is making dog lovers everywhere ecstatic.
Bear sightings are very common at Morinico's home in Bradbury, California, which is located near the Angeles National Forest, but she had never seen one that close before, let alone pushed one away from her dogs.
The real mother bear was trodding along the brick wall in Morinico’s backyard with her little cubs when all of the dogs at the Morinico residence started to bark, then rushed out to confront the intruders.
The cubs backed away, but the mama stayed, probably sensing a threat to her children, and swiped at the dogs — almost taking one with her toward the end of the video.
That's when Morinico jumped into action, protecting her “fur babies” as well.
She pushed the bear off the wall. Afterward, as the bear was recovering from the fall in her neighbor’s backyard, Morinico corralled all of the pups indoors, carrying one with her.
What kind of bear did this brave teen girl push away from her dogs?
As for the type of bear Morinico encountered, the California Department of Fish and Wildlife states, "California is home only to one species of bear — the black bear. Black bears, however, come in a variety of colors, including black, brown, blond and cinnamon."
Morinico says that this happens very often, but urges people not to do what she did and push bears.
The encounter ended with her receiving a sprained finger and a scraped knee, but the outcome easily could have been very different, and far worse.
Morinico said that originally she thought the bear was “a funny-looking dog.” But when she realized it was a bear, her instinct was to protect her beloved pups.
“Honestly, I did not know it was a bear until right after I pushed it. I didn’t register in my head that it was a bear,” she told ABC 7. “I was like, ‘It’s an animal and it’s taking my child,’ and I pushed the bear and I was like, ‘Oh my God, I just pushed a bear.’”
She said she was surprised because this happened on a Monday and bear sightings usually occur most often on Tuesdays — the neighborhood’s trash day.
Her mother, Citlally Morinico, was both terrified and shocked by what she saw in the video.
“I just break down every time I see (it). It’s just horrifying to watch,” she said.
The National Park Service agrees, advising against confrontations with bears if you can help it.
If you can't, try making yourself look bigger and move to higher ground. Do not make sudden movements, and talk to the bear to let it know you are a human.
Bears usually aren’t inherently aggressive towards humans, so you will typically be able to slink away slowly without much trouble, but avoid all contact if you can.
Isaac Serna-Diez is a writer who focuses on entertainment and news, social justice and relationships.