The World Wildlife Federation’s last Living Planet Report warned in 2022 that 69 percent of all wildlife has disappeared since 1970. A terrifying report from conservationists this year brought news that the natural world has fallen silent, with billions of animals erased from existence.
Why?
Because humans reproduce and rampage across the planet, no longer subject to survival of the fittest, with absolutely no regard for the species we share our world with.
That was proven again this week when a group of five people spotted bear cubs clinging to a tree not far from an apartment complex in Fairview, North Carolina, and decided the best course of action was to tear the terrified cubs off the branches so they could take selfies with them.
“So she can say, ‘Here, take my picture, post it all over. I’m holding a black bear,'” a horrified witness, 21-year-old Rachel Staudt, said as she filmed the group on Tuesday. “That’s insane. That’s 100% what she’s doing. She’s taking pictures of him.”
The woman called the authorities, who responded with a biologist from the North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission, but not before the damage was done.
“Did she just drop it?” the woman filming the group said as one of the group members did a “celebratory dance move,” dropped one of the cubs, then chased it to get it back and take more photos.
The group told police and the biologist that both bears had “escaped,” but the biologist found one of the traumatized cubs near a retention pond on the property.
“The cub appeared to be lethargic and frightened. It looked to be favoring one of its front paws and was wet and shivering,” Game Mammals and Surveys Supervisor Colleen Olfenbuttel told CBS News. “The cub’s condition is likely a result of the unnecessary and irresponsible actions of the people involved.”
That cub has now been orphaned, as authorities said it’s not in any condition to be returned to the wild and will have to be raised and rehabilitated for the next four to six years. The other cub couldn’t be found. Hopefully it escaped.
Authorities noted it’s not uncommon for mother bears to leave their cubs briefly to go foraging, much like mother cats do with kittens and cubs when they need to hunt to feed themselves.
Common sense and a basic respect for wildlife is usually enough to keep people from snatching the animals, but much like people who pay money to take selfish with tigers who have been sedated to their eyeballs, any concern for the welfare of animals — if it existed in the first place — is quickly shelved as people can’t resist the opportunity to grab a selfie in the age of narcissism-fueled social media.
Authorities say they’re conducting an investigation, although it’s not clear what needs to be investigated. The people involved documented their behavior with selfies, and Staudt’s video clearly shows them handling the confused and scared baby animals.
The kind of ignorance demonstrated by the group doesn’t remedy itself. Authorities should make an example of them by prosecuting them to the fullest extent of the law while redoubling efforts to educate people about keeping their distance from wild animals. And if that’s not enough motivation, or if people can’t be bothered to respect wildlife, they should consider that this would be a very different story if the cubs’ mother had been nearby.
Top image courtesy of Pexels
Pain In The Bud 
We really do have some moronic DNA in the gene pool… unfortunately there is a lot of it as this pile of scum clearly demonstrates
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We’ve become so insulated from wildlife that what would have been common sense not long ago is not even a thought now. I think of that every time people hear of a puma in an area and the immediately proposed solution is to shoot it.
They don’t understand that pumas do everything they can to avoid people, and that habitat degradation is squeezing them into tinier ranges which leads to more encounters with people which rarely end well. They’re animals. They have to hunt. The least we can do is bring our pets inside and let the wildlife be.
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Too bad the mom was not around!!
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I never want to see anyone get hurt, so I don’t wish for that, but I do wonder whether they even thought of that before they went grabbing wild baby animals. It seems like people are quick to conclude the babies are abandoned without understanding the mothers have to hunt and forage, at least to feed themselves so they can provide milk for their unweaned cubs, kittens, etc.
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Sorry. But that is the way i feel. Like wild animals who killed poachers. Rare but it happens. I do not shed a tear for humans who do this crap.
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OMG. This made me cry. 😥 I hope and pray the other cub is okay.
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Karma comes for them – and She’s got claws and big teeth.
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Sadly not surprising.
There’s a demographic that are slaves to their phones, and their lives are based on getting ‘Likes’ on Facebook.
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I really don’t understand how people can use Facebook. It’s a never-ending feed of junk content: lowest common denominator, manipulative clickbait and misinformation, and the algorithms are quality agnostic, favoring those who best know how to game the system rather than legitimate sources of information.
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What an astonishing level of ignorance. Like the reports of persons approaching bison. I saw in one reports that someone was bitten. I also saw that rabies is rare, but not unknown, in black bears. Maybe it’s time for courses in “practical zoology” and “companion animal nature and care” to be required in schools. From elementary to jr. high and high school.
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Those courses are a great idea, and something we really need to do as shrinking habitats result in more confrontations between wildlife and humans.
Indeed, quite a few people have been injured by trying to pet bison or take selfies with them in recent years.
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I truly “CAN’T STAND” the human race. It would be so nice to have the power of GOD .. with a snap of my fingers what/who ever I wish winks out of existence. For those who hurt animals this way you will no longer get away with hurting ANY animal for fun, sport, because you can or because you feel like it. <<<SNAP>>> POOF you’re gone
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There’s at least one petition to bring charges that would result in fines for those who did this. You can find it through IG @wildcatwoods (bear pic) or @thebumbleshacktinyfarm. I think they both have websites but I haven’t connected with them yet.
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