'Dude, don't touch the bear!': Video of animal encounter in Campbell River, B.C., causing outrage

Social media video of a black bear being pestered by people while feasting on fish on the shores of the Campbell River has sparked outrage online and among locals.

The video was posted seven weeks ago but has now caught the attention of residents in the Vancouver Island city of the same name, located about 225 kilometresnorth of Victoria.

The video, taken and posted online byBlake Pedersson,showsa group of people with fishinggear fixated on a black bear eatingat the river's edge.

Members of the group get within inches of the animal as they pose for selfies and take photos of it. Toward the end of the video, one of the individuals attempts to pet the bear.

"Dude, don't touch the bear," yells someone from the bridge, followed by an expletive.

WATCH | The full video posted to social media:

Raw video of people touching bear, taking selfies on Vancouver Island

6 months ago

Duration 0:58

Video taken in Campbell River, B.C., shows a bear eating on a beach as a group of people get up close, against the advice of wildlife officials.

The bear barely engages with the group until the brazen attempt at a pat and then it quickly turns its head to react.

While neither thebear nor the man appear harmed during the interaction, video viewershave expressedoutrage over what was captured on camera.

Online reactionsecho the bridge viewer'stake on the situation and comments posted on the video range from "Are you kidding me?"to "Feed the bears ... your bodies."

According to the Ministry of Environment, it doesn't look like anyone actually fed the bear, so there is no offence under the Wildlife Act.

A spokesperson for the ministry told CBC there is also not a harassing offence because the act defines harassment or herding as being done with a motor vehicle, aircraft, boat or other mechanical device.

But the group's behaviour has some locals upset.

"Anybody who sees that are going to think, 'Oh you can go to CampbellRiver and pet bears!'" said Marsha Vickers, who was hiking along the river Monday.

Vickers and fellow hiker, Ken Vende Burgt, told CHEK News they worry thebear could end up euthanized or relocated if it has too many close encounters.

"It's going to get habituated to people and eventually there are going to be problems where the bear is actually attacking people and then they will shoot it or drag it somewhere else," said Vende Burgt.

According to WildSafeBC, which works to reduce conflicts with people and wildlife through education, there is less than one fatal black bear attack on humans every three years but it isimportant not to be complacent.

Lisa Lopez, WildSafeBC program manager, says the bear was likely just interested in salmon and the group was not giving the animal the distance it needed to enjoy its dinner in peace.

"The action that we would suggest people take there is to back away from that space and give that bear space and time to finish its meal," said Lopez.

It is not possible to tell from the video if the fish was on the shoreline as a consequence of natural happenings, or if it was placed there by humans to attract animals for photo-ops.