Oregon black bear selfies lead to wildlife officials having to put down one wild animal because of the future risk of potential human attacks.
Please stop feeding bears: A black bear in Oregon was killed by wildlife officials after decided the ‘wild’ animal could be a serious threat to park goers who kept taking selfies with him, authorities said.
The young bear was shot and killed by biologists last week when they discovered the beast eating trail mix, sunflower seeds, and cracked corn near an entrance of the park outside Portland, at Hagg Lake– according to the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife.
The bear who by now had become a ‘local celebrity’ had been frequenting the area around a boat ramp after people left food for it.
Some even took selfies with him and posted them on social media, causing concern form local law enforcement.
‘This is a classic example of why we implore members of the public not to feed bears,’ wildlife biologist Kurt Licence according to wildlife officials.
‘While the individuals who put food out for this bear may have had good intentions bears should never, ever be fed.’
‘We got within 20 feet of the bear,’ License told via KGW. ‘It showed no reaction to us, no reaction to the passing cars we were within, and it’s just unnatural behavior to be close to people.’
The Fish and Wildlife Department said that they ‘do not translocate bears that have been habituated to humans because these animals are much more likely to have dangerous interactions with humans in the future.’
Deputies are working to get this bear cub near Hagg Lake to go back into the woods… please stay away from the area near Boat Ramp A. pic.twitter.com/tI8m5yTbyk
— WCSO Oregon (@WCSOOregon) June 13, 2019
