"Can't fix stupid": Person who pet a bear on Vancouver Island won't face fines
A video of a group of people surrounding a black bear on Vancouver Island is getting a lot of attention online, and condemnation is growing for the person who tried to pet the animal.
The black bear was calmly eating fish at the time, and the group could be seen encroaching within metres of the animal, taking selfies, and crouching down in front of it to take a close-up photo.
The animal ignores them until one of them reaches their hand out to touch the bear’s back, which is when the bear finally acknowledges the group.
The person was able to move their hand quickly, and it doesn’t appear that they were bit, but likely pretty scared, something that the online commenters hope sends a message about the irresponsible behaviour.
Many online assume that the group are tourists who maybe felt safe in the presence of a wild animal with 42 powerful teeth, two-inch claws, and weighing hundreds of pounds.
“Not one lick of sense between them,” one person on Reddit wrote.
“Can’t fix stupid,” someone online suggested.
“[When] Canadian Fish and Wildlife(however they are called) see this I think some darwin chasers have some ‘splainin’ to do,” another person wrote.
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However, others are simply calling for the group to face disciplinary action as human-bear conflicts are often blamed on a bear being destroyed by conservation officers.
“…People are always like ‘oh well, they’ll learn when they get mauled’, which they will, but the animal ends up being labeled a man eater and euthanized. People need to start facing animal abuse charges if an animal ends up put down due to something like this,” one person expressed.
“Should be fined, heavily if caught,” another person suggested.
People bothering a bear on Vancouver Island, British Columbia
The video was edited by the original poster to blur out the faces, and it’s unclear why.
Daily Hive reached out to the Ministry of Environment to see if the BC Conservation Officer Service was aware of the incident and if fines had been handed out, but was told that it was in the hands of WildSafeBC, a program that aims to educate and reduce conflicts.
However, it appears that petting a bear isn’t illegal, and the behaviour the only behaviour that could lead to fines is feeding them or harassing them with a mechanical device like a boat or a vehicle. None of those behaviours are shown here, apparently.