The worlds fastest recorded top average speed for a human is 23.4 mph, that was Usain Bolt at the 2009 World Championships in Berlin, Germany.

How Fast Is A Grizzly Bear?

The average Grizzly Bear can sprint at speeds between 35 - 40 mph. Even though there's not a whole lot of research on the speed of a grizzly and there's never been a sanctioned race to see how fast the bears are, there have been a couple documented instances.

Fast Grizzly Encounters

In 1930, two Yellowstone National Park employees drove up on a bear and her cubs and the bears took off running. The employees said they followed at a safe, consistent speed for two miles. The bear was said to be running at a constant speed of 25 mph.

There are other documented encounters that can vouch for grizzly bears following or being followed by vehicles going 25-28 mph for multiple miles.

That's WAY faster than even the worlds fastest man. More of a reason to never try and outrun a grizzly bear and be prepared when going into grizzly country.

Using the Wyoming Game and Fish Department's 'Bearwise Wyoming' educate yourself about the bears you may encounter. If your do encounter a bear don't try to outrun it.

Instead of trying to outrun a grizzly bear

  • First make sure you identify the bear and make sure you know if it's a black bear or grizzly
  • Have your bear spray ready to deploy
  • Don't make eye contact or use aggressive body movement
  • Try to remain calm
  • Back out of the area slowly
  • Do not fight back - lay flat on your stomach and interlock your fingers on the back of your neck

A few months ago, YouTuber F Gomez posted a video he took while visiting Yellowstone. In the video he caught a grizzly bear speeding down a hill. From a distance of a couple miles away, he witnessed this grizz getting spooked and dashing away. Gomez said he wasn't sure what spooked the large bear, but he was able to keep his camera on the bear that was at a dead sprint for up to 2 minutes.

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