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The Guardian - US
The Guardian - US
World
Guardian staff

Bear goes selfie-crazy by snapping 400 pictures on Colorado wildlife camera

Four examples of the black bear caught ‘posing’ by a motion-activated wildlife camera near Boulder, Colorado, US.
The black bear caught ‘posing’ by a motion-activated wildlife camera near Boulder, Colorado, US. Photograph: City Of Boulder Open Space And Mountain Parks

Selfie mania in wild beauty spots is definitely a thing – but this camera hog had no real idea what she was doing.

When a curious bear stumbled upon a wildlife motion-activated camera near Boulder, Colorado, she ended up triggering hundreds of “selfies”, officials have said.

Coyotes, beavers, mountain lions, black bears, all kinds of birds and many other creatures inhabit the landscape outside town, and Boulder’s open space and mountain parks department – which states its function as preserving and protecting the natural environment and land resources – set out to monitor them.

But they were amazed when they checked one camera out of many they have placed across thousands of acres and found that out of 580 images on it about 400 were of one bear, NBC News reported.

Bear poses for ‘selfies’ on wildlife camera
A black bear was caught on a wildlife camera posing for hundreds of ‘selfies’. Photograph: City Of Boulder Open Space And Mountain Parks
The bear pops its tongue out.
In one shot, the bear was snapped popping its tongue out. Photograph: City Of Boulder Open Space And Mountain Parks
The bear in three-quarter pose.
Another shot captured the bear in three-quarter pose. Photograph: City Of Boulder Open Space And Mountain Parks
The bear looking sideways.
‘Is this my best side?’: yet another view of the ‘selfie-crazy’ bear. Photograph: City Of Boulder Open Space And Mountain Parks

Most animals don’t notice the cameras, but officials said the bear appeared enthralled by this one.

“In this instance, a bear took a special interest in one of our wildlife cameras and took the opportunity to capture hundreds of ‘selfies’,” an open space and mountain parks spokesperson, Phillip Yates, told NBC in a statement this week.

“These pictures made us laugh, and we thought others would, too,” Yates added.

The bear can be seen from a number of angles, full face staring into the lens, just a paw, tongue out, a backside walking away and various other shots.

The department uses images recorded by the cameras to map wildlife habits and habitat, and to monitor land use and protection needs for wilderness areas.

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