Wildlife sightings can be thrilling, humbling — and, at times, downright terrifying.
A viral video shows an encounter that could have gone horribly wrong, if not for an animal remarkably keeping its cool.
Instagram user Tourons Of Yellowstone (@touronsofyellowstone) shared the clip, which quickly garnered tens of thousands of reactions. In it, a black bear is on the shore of Campbell River in British Columbia, Canada, enjoying a bite to eat.
Instead of leaving the bear alone — as any expert, book, or common sense would dictate — one visitor instead gets within just a couple of feet of the animal, presumably to take pictures and videos. Even worse, at the end, the person walks up to the side of the bear and (shockingly) touches it on the back.
The bear quickly snaps its head, causing the person to scamper away, but thankfully, the encounter ended there. Still, the moment caused some shock and panic for others in the area.
"Dude, don't touch the bear!" a person yells from behind the camera. "Are you … kidding me right now?"
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The Instagram account correctly noted that people shouldn't get that close to bears, especially when they're eating, and they should never attempt to touch a bear.
Each year, about 40 humans get attacked by bears. The World Animal Foundation notes that most of those attacks happen because the bears feel threatened.
If you do encounter a bear, the National Park Service says, the most important things to do are keep your distance and avoid surprising the bear. If a bear notices you, stay calm, identify yourself, make yourself look as large as possible, and move away slowly and sideways.
Despite these warnings, the internet is replete with people risking their lives, oftentimes just to get a "perfect" picture.
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Absolutely 👏 One instance was in Yellowstone, with a woman standing in her truck bed mere feet from a black bear. In Jasper National Park, a visitor with a phone came far too close to a grizzly. In a Romanian forest, a viral video showed a man standing outside of his car, feeding a brown bear.
Fortunately, these incidents ended safely. But, as commenters on the video from Campbell River pointed out, just because no one got hurt, that doesn't mean people acted properly.
"The level of sheer stupidity, lack of common sense and disrespect of wildlife NEVER ceases to amaze me," one commenter wrote.
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