On July 6, 2011, a hiker, Brian Matayoshi, was attacked by a female grizzly bear near the Wapiti Lake trail in Yellowstone National Park. He and his wife were visiting the park as hundreds of thousands do each year. Apparently they surprised the mother grizzly and her cubs. The National Park Service issued a statement saying, “In an attempt to defend a perceived threat to her cubs, the bear attacked and fatally wounded the man.” Though the man did not intend to harm the bear or her cubs, she did not know that and responded according to her nature—with fatal results.
As dangerous as it is to cross paths with a mother bear and her cubs, the Bible tells us that it is even more dangerous to cross paths with a fool.
“Let a bear robbed of her whelps meet a man, rather than a fool in his folly.”—Proverbs 17:12