CHURCHILL, CANADA — A video of a polar bear petting a dog in Canada went viral last week. But what appeared to be evidence of a heartwarming interspecies friendship turned out to be just another predator playing with his food.
The video was shot at the Mile 5 Dog Sanctuary in Manitoba, where owner Brian Ladoon claims his Canadian eskimo dogs have a special relationship with the arctic beasts, reports the CBC. In reality, Ladoon has been feeding the bears for years to dissuade them from picking off his dogs.
But it’s illegal to feed polar bears, since it emboldens them to seek out human communities for food, making attacks more common. Ladoon learned this the hard way one night when he forgot to put out food for the bears.
Just hours after playing nice with one puppy, the very same polar bear now saw another dog as a big pile of chow. And since Ladoon keeps the sled dogs on his property chained there was no stopping the hungry bear from digging in.
The animal was later taken away by conservation officers and put in a holding facility. Another bear and her cub were removed as well, since they too were reportedly being fed.
The video was shot at the Mile 5 Dog Sanctuary in Manitoba, where owner Brian Ladoon claims his Canadian eskimo dogs have a special relationship with the arctic beasts, reports the CBC. In reality, Ladoon has been feeding the bears for years to dissuade them from picking off his dogs.
But it’s illegal to feed polar bears, since it emboldens them to seek out human communities for food, making attacks more common. Ladoon learned this the hard way one night when he forgot to put out food for the bears.
Just hours after playing nice with one puppy, the very same polar bear now saw another dog as a big pile of chow. And since Ladoon keeps the sled dogs on his property chained there was no stopping the hungry bear from digging in.
The animal was later taken away by conservation officers and put in a holding facility. Another bear and her cub were removed as well, since they too were reportedly being fed.
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