Time for an obvious piece of advice: If you see a bear on the side of the road, don't engage it. Just leave it alone.
At least, that should be obvious. But as a stunning video shows, for some people, it bears repeating (pun obviously intended).
The video, shared by popular Instagram account touronsofnationalparks (@touronsofnationalparks), shows a man walking up to a bear on the side of a busy road, seemingly to offer it food. The bear aggressively runs after the man, who sprints away and jumps onto the hood of his car.
This account exists because of the actions of "tourons" — a mashup of tourists and morons — but even under that umbrella, this person's actions are shocking. And not surprisingly, he didn't garner much sympathy from social media commenters.
"What did he expect would happen?" one asked.
"Why … why would he get out of his car in the first place," another wondered.
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And although some level of disbelief is understandable and expected, the video highlights a legitimate problem. Human actions have forced millions of animals out of their natural habitats and into unfamiliar situations, making them more likely to lash out.
These actions manifest in different ways. Urban sprawl is one, as development encroaches on forests and waterways where animals have comfortably lived for years.
Pollution is another way. As we burn more fossil fuels and release more heat-trapping gases into the atmosphere, the planet becomes warmer. In fact, the last 10 years have been the 10 warmest in recorded history.
Those temperature changes can have massive impacts on wildlife. For some, it may mean their longtime environment is now too warm or too dry to comfortably survive. For others, it may mean their migratory patterns need to adjust to areas that were once too cold.
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And that type of change can also change wildlife behavior. When animals are forced out of their environments, they naturally become more scared, making them more likely to attack those unfamiliar to them, such as a person on the side of the road.
Which, again, brings us to our main point. If you encounter potentially dangerous wildlife, please leave it alone.
"I'm surprised he knew to run from the bear because he didn't seem to know not to try to interact with or feed the bear," one commenter wrote.
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