Black Bear or Bigfoot?

The forest can hide its share of surprises, and a group of hikers in Utah learned just that last week. In this video, posted to YouTube on Oct. 30, a hiker and his companion appear to be observing a bear in Provo Canyon. When the furry beast realizes its not alone, however, it stands up—revealing a form that's more than enough to scare the upstart camera crew away at a sprint.

Their footage went live with the title "Provo Canyon Bigfoot Encounter?" not long later. The video's owner later told Salt Lake City's FOX13 that no one in the group had ever believed in Bigfoot—until the encounter, I'd guess—and that they thought they'd be recording the far more common (and decidedly real) black bear. Later reports have said that the group left all their camping gear behind during the hasty departure, and returned for it the next day.

The most logical explanation is that our hikers were simply videoing a bear that popped up on its hind legs after it realized it wasn't alone. That happens. Even so, there are enough "Bigfoot" believers out there for the debate to remain open, and the video itself has amassed more than 2 million views in less than a week.

In reality, it looks like a bear. A lot like a bear. A glare from one of them will send most hikers scurrying away just as fast a hypothetical Bigfoot encounter would. And that's assuming this isn't some sort of elaborate hoax.

I personally can't bring myself believe that there are any Bigfoot like creatures wandering around the American Northwest—in large because if there were, some hunter would have dragged one out of the woods by now. That said, I leave it up to you to watch the video and decide.