Article content continued

Getting ready for Berkleys first Birthday!! Turn the sound and listen right to the end to get all the details! Posted by Discovery Wildlife Park on Sunday, January 14, 2018

“Public safety is a top priority for our government,” said spokesman Brendan Cox. “The content of the video in question is disturbing and both Environment and Parks, and the Fish and Wildlife enforcement branch are actively investigating this incident.”

“The involvement of Discovery Wildlife Park in this matter is also subject to investigation. If non-compliance is found, action will be taken.”

Bear experts are calling the video irresponsible and disrespectful.

“It’s a challenge every day out there in our parks and protected areas to try to teach people who are visiting these places or live here in Alberta that we don’t feed wildlife, that we don’t feed bears,” said Kim Titchener, who runs a business called Bear Safety & More.

“We need to conserve and protect them, and respect them.”

Serena Bos, a trainer at Discovery Wildlife Park, said there was no safety concern because the bear was on a chain in the truck the entire time.

It's a challenge every day out there in our parks and protected areas to try to teach people that we don't feed bears

“There was never any public present. It was done long before the Dairy Queen even opened,” she said. “Berkley is a captive bear, so not a wild bear in any way.”

Bos said the bear, which is a sub-species of the grizzly bear, came from another facility in the United States and has been well-trained.

“We have put out hundreds of conservation messages on social media over the years,” said Bos, who noted the park uses its animals as ambassadors to get those messages out.

The message in the video with the bruin in the truck is about the importance of staying inside a vehicle when a bear is on the side of the highway because they have a keen sense of smell, she said.