When Boulder, Colorado’s Open Space and Mountain Parks team set up a motion-sensor wildlife camera outside of town, they thought they’d photograph a cross-section of the species that call the area home.
What they didn’t expect was for one black bear to show up in 400 of the camera’s 580 images. But that’s exactly what happened, spurring instantaneous internet fame for the inquisitive animal.
Who is she?
A curious bear has become the surprise star of Colorado wildlife cameras after taking hundreds of un-bearably chic selfies. https://t.co/7NkRQ05vZC
— NBC News (@NBCNews) January 26, 2023
Generally speaking, animals take no notice of wildlife cameras. But this bear is different.
“In this instance, a bear took a special interest in one of our wildlife cameras and took the opportunity to capture hundreds of ‘selfies,'” Phillip Yates, a spokesperson for Open Space and Mountain Parks, said in a statement.
“These pictures made us laugh, and we thought others would, too,” Yates said.
They were right! Just remember, let the bears take their own selfies. Don’t be these guys.
Wildlife cameras “provide us with a unique opportunity to learn more about how local species use the landscape around us while minimizing our presence in sensitive habitats,” Yates told NBC News.
The Boulder Open Space and Mountain Parks Department manages about 18,000 hectares of public land, including 250km of developed trails.