Bear in Boulder, Colorado, takes 400 wildlife camera selfies: NPR
A black bear takes a “selfie” on November 24, 2022 in Boulder, Colorado. The image was captured on a motion detection camera, which was installed so officials could track, learn and protect wildlife.
City of Boulder
hide caption
toggle caption
City of Boulder
A black bear takes a “selfie” on November 24, 2022 in Boulder, Colorado. The image was captured on a motion detection camera, which was installed so officials could track, learn and protect wildlife.
City of Boulder
Humans are apparently not the only species to take selfies.
A motion capture camera in Boulder, Colorado took hundreds of images of a curious black bear in November, according to local officials.
The city’s Open Spaces and Mountain Parks Department installed nine of the cameras to track and learn about local wildlife while minimizing human presence in sensitive habitats. One of the cameras had captured about 580 images – and about 400 of them were of the same bear.
“These images made us laugh, and we thought others would too,” a spokesperson for Open Space and Mountain Parks said in a statement.
Most animals don’t notice cameras, officials say, which are activated by an animal walking in front of them. They capture animals like deer, beavers and less curious black bears going about their business. But this bear was fascinated by it.
“In this case, a bear took a particular interest in one of our wildlife cameras and took the opportunity to capture hundreds of ‘selfies,'” the spokesperson said.
Photo shoots are an unintended – but fun – use of cameras. The city uses them for map wildlife areas and “learn more about how local species use the landscape around us” and recommend protections for natural areas.
npr
