Well, that is one way to teach your kids about how nature works…
Everyone loves a family day out to the zoo. You get to see some amazing animals that you might never see otherwise, and it’s a great way to teach your kids about different species in nature. That is all fun and games until the wild animals in the enclosures actually act like wild animals.
At the Seattle Zoo, kiddos from the viewing tank of the grizzly bear exhibit got a real life taste of how the food chain works yesterday. A mother posted a video showing a cute family of ducks landing in the water feature of the bears’ enclosure. The children around the tank are filled with amazement as one of the grizzly bears shows interest in the family. But not a “Hey, look at those cute duckies” interest; it was an “Oh, that looks like a tasty snack” interest.
The bear circles the edge of the water a few times before making the plunge toward the mother duck and her ducklings. Poor things didn’t stand a chance…
The bear easily snags one, plopping it into its mouth for a snack. The ducklings swim away, hoping to escape, but they keep getting plucked one by one by the bear. You hear the kids screaming in shock, and one little girl yells:
“It’s just a baby! They are dying, Mama!”
Yep, that’s life, kid…
At one point, I felt like the bear was saying, “Hey, kids, watch this,” as she kept catching the babies in front of the children. The woman filming seemed to have an outlook that might not be shared similarly with the other parents, noting that her children were not traumatized because they watched Dave Attenborough documentaries—at least her kids know how the food chain works.
@hppytrees Edit: we see wildlife doing their thing all over where we live. Our kids are not “traumatized”. Oh and we also let them watch Dave Attenborough shows *gasp* A #natgeo trainwreck for my daughters birthday, thanks JUNIPER! JK we LOVED @Woodland Park Zoo #circleoflife #schnacks ♬ original sound – Rachelle
You already know the comments section on this was a gold mine.
“Bear was like, sweet Uber Eats is here with my nuggets.”
“That bear just changed the trajectory of those children’s lives.”
“I’m picking the bear.”
“That poor mama duck.”
“The way it kept getting worse.”
“And then they all had burgers or tuna sammies for lunch.”
“Nature’s peeps.”
“Alexa: Play ‘Circle Of Life.'”
Lesson learned…
More WILD Videos From RIFF Outdoors
Massive Bear Follows Kid Down Mountain
Imagine enjoying a beautiful day on the Italian country side as a kid, mindlessly picking up pine cones with your dad and enjoying the scenery, when all of a sudden a brown bear shows itself and goes into a full on staring contest with you.
I already know that my 12-year-old self would’ve probably lost all self control. But this kid right here? The definition of nerves of steel.
And I’m not talking about some small bear. The son of a gun in this video is about as big as they come. In this wild video, you can see a GINORMOUS brown bear come face-to-face with the kid, so the kid follows the instructions of his father and begins to slowly make his way back down the hill.
But, the bear is sure to follow closely behind. The bear doesn’t appear to be hostile, and more so curious of what the kid has in his hand, but I don’t care. If a grizzly is right on my heels, I ain’t gonna risk it.
It appears that everybody was able to survive the encounter without any injury, but one can only imagine the terrible ending this video would have if the kid had approached the creature. And fun fact, the caption says grizzly, but it’s actually a Marsican brown bear, one of the last known bear species in all of Italy.
Check it out:
Sheep Dog Goes Head-To-Head With Big Ol’ Grizzly To Protect The Herd
GOOD BOY.
Sheep farmers have used dogs as a tool to get the job done, whether its herding them and keeping them where they need to be or protecting them from predators, for a long time.
Seeing it in action is pretty cool, but make no mistake, these dogs don’t live like most with soft beds and warm shelter. They are usually outside, working dogs. But, they have a purpose and they love doing it, so it’s a good thing. And what’s better for a dog than running the field all day?
Great Pyrenees are a protective sheep dog. They are used to scare off predators or anything that is threatening the herd. They have a natural instinct to patrol and defend their territory, which often includes the sheep they are tasked to protect. Their thick, weather-resistant coat helps them withstand harsh mountain climates while blending in with their surroundings.
But they do have to do some wild stuff like take on wolves, coyotes and bears. But they do it happily. This great Pyrenees is seen going to work when a grizzly bear started to move in of his herd.
The bear makes its way to the sheep but the dog comes in guns-a-blazing. It is barking and heads straight for the bear getting within a few feet.
Ultimately the grizzly knows he means business and takes off to find an easier meal. A job well done… get that good boy a treat.
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Bears Battle Over Whale Carcass
I recently got back from the lovely state of Montana, and while I didn’t run into any bears while I was there (probably a good thing), you get a first hand account of the vast, incredible, and humbling beauty this country has to offer.
And while Montana is amazing, it gets no more vast, incredible and humbling than… Alaska.
In this incredible footage at the Katmai Coast of Southern Alaska, we get to watch as two coastal brown bears engage in a vicious fight over a beached whale carcass.
According to Expeditions Alaska, two big male brown bears were laying claim to this beached whale carcass when some other bears came walking up to chow down.
That’s when all hell broke loose:
“These two large male brown bears had been strutting and posturing and peeing and rubbing, jaw clacking, and carrying on, generally chest-pounding, trying their best to intimidate one another, for near 20 minutes.
During this time, a few other smaller bears had come in and started feeding on the carcass, including this sow and her single yearling cub. One of the males came down and began to feed as well, but didn’t seem unduly concerned about the sow/cub on the other side of the whale carcass.”
But then, the female gets attacked:
“Finally, the second male came down, with that classic side-stepping strutting gait, and headed straight for the female. Her cub bails, and rather than follow suit, she gets defensive.
The power is pretty impressive, watch how far backward she goes each time. And incredibly deft footwork for her… if she didn’t maintain her balance, she’d have been in bigger trouble.”
But then, the other male comes to her rescue and it’s on.
The second male surprises the original attacker, but them seem to be well-matched for each other in size and power. They grapple like it’s a UFC fight, while the sow and her cub manages to get away.
Eventually, they’ve had enough and they separate, both looking pretty gassed from the tussle.
And we have a front row seat.
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