Watch Mother Bear Give a Filmmaker a Warning Bite
Wildlife filmmaker Gordon Buchanan was sitting feet from a black bear named Lily and her cub, Hope, when Lily grabbed his leg with her teeth. The moment was…
Wildlife filmmaker Gordon Buchanan was sitting just feet from a wild black bear named Lily and her cub, Hope, when the mother bear suddenly grabbed his leg with her teeth. You can watch the mother bear give that warning bite in footage captured for the BBC documentary The Bear Family and Me.
Lily's reaction was brief. Buchanan was able to back away without the encounter escalating into a serious attack.
What the footage shows
In the clip, Buchanan sits close to the pair as Hope approaches him. He speaks softly, clearly fascinated. His attention stays on the cub. Lily, meanwhile, makes a sudden move toward his leg.
Buchanan reacts with surprise as the bear catches his leg in her mouth. He first says he has been bitten, then clarifies that he considers the contact a warning rather than a serious bite. He realizes he had been concentrating on Hope instead of watching Lily.
He did not panic or try to run. He spoke calmly and gradually got to his feet. He noticed Lily smacking her lips, which he interprets as a sign of nervousness, and carefully backed away. Looking back, he acknowledges the mother bear had been signaling that he needed to leave her alone.
He had spent time observing the bears and knew their behavior. Even so, he missed the warning.
Why a mother bear might bite
Mother bears are protective of their cubs. That does not mean every encounter with a female bear and her young ends in aggression. In Lily's case, the contact appears to have been meant to create distance, not to seriously injure Buchanan.
Bears communicate through body language, vocalizations and other behaviors. Huffing, jaw snapping, changes in posture and certain facial movements can signal agitation or discomfort. People do not always recognize those cues, especially when distracted by a curious cub.
The National Park Service advises visitors never to approach a bear or its cubs and to give the animals plenty of space. Hand-feeding bears is also dangerous, because it can teach them to associate people with food and raise the risk of future conflicts.
A powerful animal
American black bears (Ursus americanus) are the most widely distributed bear species in North America. Adult males are generally larger than females, and weight varies with age, habitat, season and access to food. Large males can weigh several hundred pounds, while females are typically smaller.
Despite their bulky look, black bears are athletic. They can run at speeds approaching 35 miles per hour, climb trees and swim. Their jaws and claws help them find food, but those same abilities make close encounters potentially dangerous for people.
A wild animal does not need to launch a full attack to make its boundaries clear. In this case, Buchanan recognized the warning before things got worse.
Source: yahoo.com
