Cute 'polar bear petting dog' video questioned after dog eaten

A widely viewed Canadian video that shows a polar bear petting a sled dog may not be as cute and innocent as it seems.

In the footage taken Saturday by a part-time tour guide in Churchill, Manitoba, a polar bear appears to be gently stroking a chained sled dog. The video went viral, causing a collective "awww" echoing across the Internet.

"It was a beautiful sight to see," the guide, David Meulles, told CBC. "I just can't believe an animal that big would show that kind of heart toward another animal."

Beautiful yes. Also totally unnatural.

The straight-out-of-a-Disney-movie moment raised flags among conservation officials for several reasons.

First, bears in the wild don't behave like this.

Secondly, the bears were entering the property, a dog sanctuary owned by Churchill resident Brian Ladoon, because he was feeding them, a major no-no.

Finally, one of the benevolent, canine-caressing polar bears ate a dog a few days before the video was recorded.

A polar bear was caught on video petting a dog,and it's the cutest thing. The species, though not endangered, has been categorized as "vulnerable" due to the steady decrease in population.



>>KEEP CLICKING TO SEE ANIMALS THAT ARE OR HAVE BEEN ON THE ENDANGERED SPECIES LIST.



Photo: David de Meulles YouTube less A polar bear was caught on video petting a dog,and it's the cutest thing. The species, though not endangered, has been categorized as "vulnerable" due to the steady decrease in population.



>>KEEP CLICKING ... more Image 1 of / 39 Caption Close Cute 'polar bear petting dog' video questioned after dog eaten 1 / 39 Back to Gallery

"That was the only day we didn't feed the f--king bears, the only night we didn't put anything out," Ladoon told CBC.

Obviously, it's the bear's fault for not realizing "Tethered Dog" was not on the menu.

Under Manitoba's Endangered Species and Ecosystem Act, "No person shall kill, injure, possess, disturb or interfere with an endangered species, a threatened species, or an extirpated species that has been reintroduced."

Conservation officers removed three of the bears, the dog killer and a mother and cub, from the property last week.

A University of Alberta professor told CBC that the artificial encounter between the dog and the bear in the video should not have been allowed to occur. Keeping the dog chained only made matters worse.

"The dog was chained up and they're totally vulnerable," Professor Ian Stirling, said. "Inuit [hunters] over the years in the high Arctic have told me that if you want a dog to act as a guard dog, you have to leave it off a chain. Because if it's on a chain it knows it's vulnerable and it won't bark."

Ladoon told CBC that bears befriending dogs is not unnatural, but rather "a phenomenon."