We've seen a few stories about dumb people taking selfies with bears.
Some end in tragedy for the bears.
Some for the humans.
And yet, the lure of the perfect social media selfie with a bear remains too strong an enticement for some, which is why Florida is out here telling people to please not take selfies with a depressed bear who likes to hang out on the north side of Highway 98 near Santa Rosa Beach.
Onlookers were trying to take selfies with the bear and he's clearly not in the mood for pictures. The bear has shown signs of severe stress.
In other words, he's not depressed, just hot and cranky.
And the hot and cranky bear isn't going to give you the social media cred you're looking for. That bear is way more interested in helping you make the news with a hospital visit and mass ridicule.
A spokesperson for the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation commission (FWC) said,
Typically, bears will move along on their own. If you see a bear, give it space, don't try to approach it, and never feed it
Crowding around any bear is never recommended, as bears can become defensive when threatened. Always give bears as much space as possible.
Thanks to Governor Ron DeSantis, Florida residents are now allowed to kill a bear if it's threatening a person, pet, or their home.
It's kind of weird that they weren't legally allowed to do that before, but I guess it's so that hunters wouldn't reenact that old South Park episode:
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