Canada Journal – News of the World Articles and videos to bring you the biggest Canadian news stories from across the country every day
A video of a polar bear petting a sled dog that went viral seemed heartwarming, but a new development casts the interaction in a different light. The Dodo has updated its initial post on the incident, which took place near Churchill in Manitoba.
“Conservation officers had to immobilize a bear in that area last week and move it to the holding facility because it killed one of his dogs,” a spokesperson told CBC News. “A mother and cub were also removed because there were allegations the bears were being fed and the females’ behavior was becoming a concern.”
The canine was reportedly killed when Brian Ladoon, who owns the property and has been feeding the wild bears, forgot to leave food out one night.
A video of a polar bear petting a chained sled dog in Manitoba, Canada, is uniquely adorable.
The video was recorded by David De Meulles, a resident of the town who works as a part time tour guide and a heavy-duty mechanic in the northern community.
De Meuless was taking tourists to Brian Ladoon’s property hoping he could show them some polar bears, which are usually known to spend time in that area.
But the group instead got to witness a giant polar bear promoting interspecies friendship by gently petting a sled dog.
For those unaware, polar bears are naturally vicious hunters and can easily kill a sled dog. Fortunately, that’s not how this particular incident ended.
Initially, the tourists and De Mueless were a little worried seeing the giant bear walking over to the chained dog, but then, it surprised everyone by reaching out with his paws over the dog’s head.
After about 20 seconds, the dog got up and decided to walk off, forcing the bear to end his petting session.
“I had no idea what was going to happen, and then sure enough he started petting that dog, acted like he was a friend,” De Meulles told CBC. “I just so happened to catch a video of a lifetime.”
“I’ve known the bears to have somewhat friendly behavior with the dogs, but for a bear to pet like a human would pet a dog is just mind-blowing,” he added.
“It was a beautiful sight to see, and I just can’t believe an animal that big would show that kind of heart toward another animal.”
For Ladoon, who owns the property where the scene unfolded, interactions between dogs and bears are not uncommon.
What was, however, unique in this particular case was the friendliness both animals expressed towards one another.
Agencies/Canadajournal
