Okay, we’ve all had our moments. Those times of unfettered excitement, however long they may be, that influence us into doing something that could be considered narcissistic? Or maybe even, dumb? Well, this guy might have been pulled along by that same sweet taste of triumph, as he went selfie hunting on the Brooks River in Alaska to try and get his ultimate “smart” phone trophy in front of feeding bears.
And he might have pulled it off. The only problem? Those damn webcams aren’t just placed at surf breaks and chairlifts anymore. People love bears. And they love to watch them, hence the Katmai National Park bear cam, a live stream that park officials say gets some 10,000 views a day. Again, people are really into bears. And these brown bears (even though they look like grizzlies) are more concentrated in Katmai than almost anywhere in the world and people love to watch them gobble leaping salmon by the pounds.
Well, needless to say, authorities with the National Park were not pleased in the least, as officials called the selfie scramble, “unprecedented.” Webcam viewers reported the man, and the parks service said in a statement released to the media that two Alaska residence and a tourist were caught in the pool below the small falls and that the man on camera apparently accessed the pool via an emergency exit on the bear viewing platform. Charges are being finalized, according to reports. It’s apparently unlawful to get within 50 yards of a feeding animal.
“In doing so, the group violated National Park Service wildlife viewing regulations, putting themselves and wildlife at risk,” said Mark Sturm, superintendent at Katmai National Park. “People need to recognize that these are wild brown bears. These visitors are lucky that they escaped the situation without injury. The possible consequences for the bears and themselves could have been disastrous.”
