Bears are often revered as terrifyingly deadly creatures that like to tear things up and maul animals to death before eating them. In fact, that’s just about what most wild bears will do.
But for some bears, which have been cared for by humans since a very young age, tearing and mauling is the last things on their minds.
With well over 12 million views, this Facebook video from the Orphaned Wildlife Center of a man hugging and cuddling with a 1500-pound Kodiak bear named Jimbo has went viral. The man shows off feeling completely comfortable being licked by the bear and even putting his hand in the bears’ mouth.
Despite what everyone would expect, the bear did not harm the man whatsoever. Quite the contrary in fact – the bear was a kind and loving animal much like a companion dog would have been.
Who was the man? Was he a bear whisperer? – Perhaps; his name is Jim Kowalczik and he’s one of the people who helps run things around the Orphaned Wildlife Center, so you could say that the bears know him very well.
There are a total of 11 bears at the facility where Jimbo is, and each and every one of them is said to be just as friendly. The only catch is that because they’ve been raised by humans since a very young age, they can’t really be released into the wild.
Bears in this 100-acre facility are hand-fed by humans, and never actually have to hunt for themselves like wild bears would have to. Because they’ve been raised by humans their entire lives, they wouldn’t really know how to survive on their own, how to hunt, and how to find their own water.
Still, we’d have a hard time taking our chances with bears even despite seeing such a heart-warming video on the web.
Source: Insider Edition
