Not quite a teddy bear’s picnic! Nerve-wracking moment a hiker hand feeds meat to a black bear
- Zack Brown was hiking through Canada when he spotted the bear approaching
- Rather than panic he decided he would appease the bear using beaver meat
- The curious mammal approaches the hiker carefully, sniffing at the strange treat
One hiker shared a particularly white-knuckle encounter when confronted with a black bear on a trail in Canada.
Zack Brown, a hunting guide, was in the Canadian wilderness in northern Alberta and had the fresh meat on hand when he encountered the bear.
With minimal coverage outside the treeline the pair quickly spotted each other.
Appearing completely unfazed Zack turns to the camera, jokingly advertising a ‘mobile baiting service.’
The curious bear eyes Zack cautiously as it approaches the meat Zack has speared on a knife.
It sniffs at the air as it gets closer before snatching the meat greedily, making off in the direction of the surrounding woodland.
Zack turns back to the camera to remind his audience ‘That’s how it’s done.’
Zack said: ‘I’ve had some close situations but since black bears are so afraid of us, they often won’t come close enough to feed by hand.
‘Before I fed the bear it was circling my quad since it smelled the food.
‘I was feeling pretty excited as the bear was getting closer.
‘I’ve always wanted to hand feed a bear so I was happy it was finally going to happen.’
Suppers on! Zack extends his arm with the beaver meat caught on the blade offering it to the bear who eagerly pads forward
Taste test: Ever a curious species, the black bear pauses to sniff and lick at the meat before taking it in it’s maw
Dinner, no conversation: As quickly as it appeared the black bear bolts off into the treeline eager to chow down on its free meal
Black bears are the most common species of bear, found across all provinces of Canadian territory.
Their diet typically consists mainly of fruit and other vegetation with only five per cent of it made up with meat from birds and other animals.
As more areas of Canada and northern America are developed on, more humans are coming into contact with bears, but luckily bear attacks remain a rarity.
Male bears can often reach up to 270kg in weight but thankfully they are not typically aggressive, often preferring to run instead of fight.
This bear got away with a lucky encounter, Alberta has a long tradition of bear hunting and the knife used to feed it could just as easily have taken its pelt.