Midwestern Family Shares Video of Bear Begging at their Back Door
Here's something you don't see every day. A midwestern family just shared video of a bear that showed up at their back door begging for food.
Based on the video description, I believe this happened in Michigan. This is really a cautionary tale, but before I deal with that here's what the family said about this bear and what he wants:
Matty is seven years old now and has been coming to my yard since he was born. He has an injured paw and has a hard time foraging for food or climbing trees. He comes to me when he can't find food.
So, the bear is named "Matty"? Interesting. They mention he has an injured paw which appears to be true based on how he doesn't appear to put any weight on it. Before I get into how bad an idea this is, watch "Matty" for yourself.
Disclaimer: I appreciate that this family has a heart to help wounded animals, but this is a very bad idea. The National Park Service has shared some dire warnings about what happens when you allow bears to get your food.
We shared with you that more bears may be choosing Iowa as a home moving south from Minnesota and Michigan. Let's hope this "feeding the cute bears" thing does not become a habit in our state.
The primary problem is that if bears know they can get food from you and/or your property, they will become more comfortable around humans. Inevitably that results with wildlife officials having to euthanize bears before someone gets hurt. A couple of years ago, there were people who fed a bear and took selfies with it (really) which ended up with the bear being put down.