Story By: Gabriel Zamfir, Sub-Editor: Joseph Golder, Agency: Central European News
Video Credit: CEN/Info Trafic Actualități
This is the moment a young girl hand feeds a wild bear on the side of a road and even tries to pet the huge animal on the nose.
The startling scenes were recorded by an onlooker near Lake Vidraru, on Transfagarasan Road, in the county of Arges, Central Romania a few days after a group of tourists were recorded feeding wild bears in the same area.
In the video, the girl, who has not been named in reports, can be seen feeding a wild bear with a piece of ham.
She is being encouraged by a man, reportedly her father, and she even appears to try to stroke the bear on its nose as she feeds it.
The man who recorded the scene reportedly alerted the authorities but when mountain rescuers arrived at the scene everybody had left.
Picture Credit: CEN
Netizens slammed the dad and daughter’s behaviour, with ‘Lucia Kiss’ commenting: “How far that man can that man’s ignorance go?! How can he expose his child to such risks just to post on Facebook a ‘sensational’ video?! What are Child Protection doing in this case?!”
And ‘Oana Puscasu’ wrote: “The animal is starving. People have destroyed its habitat. Where are the authorities who should protect it?!”.
The incident comes after a group of tourists were filmed stopping to feed wild bears by the side of the Transfagarasan Road, named the “greatest to drive on in the world” by former Top Gear host Jeremy Clarkson.
In the video, a group of tourists can be seen with their cars stopped on the road as they feed a pair of wild bears.
The bears are standing just off the road and the tourists appear to be throwing food to them and the person recording, who posted the video his vlog ‘Cezar Outdoors’ lowers his car window and says: “You know that is dangerous. Right?”
One of the tourists answers: “No problem, we are not getting close to them.”
Picture Credit: CEN
The cameraman then replies: “But you know that if the bears bite you, you’ll be on the news and they will say that is the bear’s fault, not yours, for getting too close to them.”
The tourist then claims that the bears are not dangerous because they “are just cubs” and the mother bear who “might be dangerous” is “not around”.
The local mountain rescue department released a statement reading: “There have been more cases of bears being reported near Transfagarasan Road, or near other tourist trails, so we are trying to communicate our way of doing things.
“To avoid brown bear attacks, it is absolutely forbidden to feed or approach the animal for photographs or other reasons. Keep in mind that the bear will bypass you if you do the same. Humans are not bear prey, but if they receive food constantly they will consider it normal to receive it at all times, which will make them aggressive.”
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