DIY Photography

Your one stop shop for everything photo-video

  • News
  • Inspiration
  • Reviews
  • Tutorials
  • DIY
  • Gear
Search

Submit A Story

Watch this drone terrify a mother bear and her cub

Nov 7, 2018 by Dunja Djudjic 5 Comments

  • Share
  • Tweet
  • Flipboard
  • WhatsApp

Have you seen the viral drone footage of mama bear and her cub trying to climb up a snow-covered mountain? The baby loses its footing several times and slides back down, but eventually manages to join his mom at the top.

Many people have interpreted this video as a metaphor for determination, but biologists who saw it have a different opinion. The determined baby bear inspired a lot of motivational posters and caused a lot of “awwws.” However, it was apparently the drone that made the animals run in panic in the first place.

The video first appeared on ViralHog, from where it was posted to Twitter, and the rest is history. It quickly went viral, and at the time of writing, it has over 20 million views. In the video, the mama bear and her cub are climbing the snow-covered mountain, and while the mom quickly reaches the top, the cub slides all the way back down. But it doesn’t give up and rushes towards its mom once again. After nearly reaching the top, the baby loses its footing and slides down again. This happens several times. On one occasion, the baby slides down because the mom inexplicably swipes at it with her paw. But eventually, the two reunite and walk away.

Apparently, many people have overlooked the moment when the mom swipes at the cub. Or the fact that the two bears look startled both during the climb and when they finally reunite. The video has quickly become a metaphor for persistence which has been retweeted almost 200,000 times (and counting).

We could all learn a lesson from this baby bear: Look up & don't give up. pic.twitter.com/nm0McSYeqY

— Earthling (@ziyatong) November 3, 2018

The video was obviously captured by a drone, and many people have had a much different reaction to it. When you watch it more closely, you’ll see that it’s not cute at all, as the two bears are terrified and trying to escape. Clayton Lamb of the University of Alberta told The Atlantic that, judging from the bears’ behavior, the drone was flying too close.

First of all, the mom kept anxiously looking up at it, clearly bothered by its presence. Also, it’s unusual for a female bear to climb such a slippery slope with her young and vulnerable cub. However, it looks like she took this risk because she felt that the drone was a bigger danger. As for the mom swiping at the cub with her paw – this happened when the drone got closer to the animals. Lamb explains that the mom probably felt the approaching drone as a kind of attack, and she wanted to push her cub away. It’s possible that she thought of a drone to be a bird of prey.

After analyzing the bears’ behavior, many people reacted against the drone operator who, apparently, scared the bears into pursuing a dangerous path. It hasn’t been just biologists who have condemned the irresponsible drone flying; drone pilots have condemned it, too.

The video going around of a bear cub scrambling up a snowy cliff to get back to its distressed mother is being shared as a heartwarming metaphor for persistence. It’s not. It’s a dangerous stunt by an irresponsible drone operator who should know better.

— Dr. Jacquelyn Gill (@JacquelynGill) November 4, 2018

As a drone pilot this footage makes me angry. Did you see the momma bear lash out as the cub was almost up at 1:19? Got to think the rapidly approaching aerial contraption wasn't helping.

— ?? (@JonathanEugster) November 4, 2018

Mom is *super* worried. The way she paces back and forth, looks around is very anxious. When she appears to push him down? She's pushing him away b/c she thinks the drone is about to *attack* him.

Very bad drone behavior here. Good momma bear.
(PhD in animal behavior)

— Katie L, PhD in ? (@FeatheredKatie) November 5, 2018

Stop sharing that video of the baby bear climbing back up the mountain. Does it show perserverence? Yes, but as a extremely loud drone harasses both mother and baby. It shows unethical filming and the drone operator should be charged.

— Geojeannie (@GeoJeannie) November 4, 2018

Of course, drones have their purpose in wildlife exploration and filming wildlife documentaries. But those drones are used by professionals who make sure not to disturb animals. The Atlantic writes that there have been several studies that have assessed how animals react to drones. The reactions vary between species, but they also depend on factors such as the shape of the drone, its flight speed, how fast it approaches etc. And we’ve even seen antelopes and eagles knocking drones out of the sky.

When it comes to bears, a study has shown that they get distressed when in proximity to drones. This also confirms what the biologists have seen in the viral video above – the bears were terrified by the presence of the drone.

Many people have argued that the drone operator should be prosecuted due to irresponsible behavior. However, it’s not certain who filmed the video, or even which drone was used. The only information we have is that the video was captured on 19 June 2018 in the Magadan region of Russia.

In my opinion, you don’t even have to be a biologist or an animal behavior expert to see the fear in the bears’ behavior. Personally, I found this video difficult to watch. I saw no metaphor for persistence, only an attempt to escape and a struggle for life. Unfortunately, people often interfere with wildlife because they want to take a photo or video of a lifetime that will bring them 15 minutes of Insta-fame. And sadly, this sometimes ends tragically for either humans or animals.

How do you see this video? A metaphor for persistence, or animals struggling to escape the danger they see in the drone?

[via The Atlantic]

FIND THIS INTERESTING? SHARE IT WITH YOUR FRIENDS!

  • Share
  • Tweet
  • Flipboard
  • WhatsApp

Related posts:

Watch a bear sit next to a photographer: it’s both heartwarming and terrifying Watch a wild polar bear trying to break into the box protecting a BBC filmmaker This photographer stands up to a polar bear while taking photos What to do when approached by a bear? If you’re this woman, you shoot a selfie with it

Filed Under: Inspiration Tagged With: bear, Bears, camera drone, camera drones, Danger, drone, wildlife

Dunja Djudjic: from diyphotography.net

About Dunja Djudjic

Dunja Djudjic is a multi-talented artist based in Novi Sad, Serbia. With 15 years of experience as a photographer, she specializes in capturing the beauty of nature, travel, and fine art. In addition to her photography, Dunja also expresses her creativity through writing, embroidery, and jewelry making.

« Sony A7III vs Nikon Z7 vs Canon EOS R vs Fuji X-T3 vs Pocket 4K low-light shootout
2 new EOS R mirrorless cameras expected in 2019 including one high resolution body »

Submit A Story

Get our FREE Lighting Book

DIYP lighting book cover

* download requires newsletter signup

Recent Comments

Free Resources

Advanced lighting book

Learn photography

Recent Posts

  • Mirrorless cameras shot 58% of this year’s Astro Photographer of the Year shortlist images
  • The Shure SM7dB eliminates quiet microphone signals with a built-in preamp
  • Web Photoshop Launches with Adobe Firefly AI: No longer beta and no longer free
  • How I shot this maternity portrait on a huge 1m² large format camera
  • Photographer’s favourite ‘Robin Hood’ tree cut down overnight

Udi Tirosh: from diyphotography.netUdi Tirosh is an entrepreneur, photography inventor, journalist, educator, and writer based in Israel. With over 25 years of experience in the photo-video industry, Udi has built and sold several photography-related brands. Udi has a double degree in mass media communications and computer science.

Alex Baker: from diyphotography.netAlex Baker is a portrait and lifestyle driven photographer based in Valencia, Spain. She works on a range of projects from commercial to fine art and has had work featured in publications such as The Daily Mail, Conde Nast Traveller and El Mundo, and has exhibited work across Europe

David Williams: from diyphotography.netDave Williams is an accomplished travel photographer, writer, and best-selling author from the UK. He is also a photography educator and published Aurora expert. Dave has traveled extensively in recent years, capturing stunning images from around the world in a modified van. His work has been featured in various publications and he has worked with notable brands such as Skoda, EE, Boeing, Huawei, Microsoft, BMW, Conde Nast, Electronic Arts, Discovery, BBC, The Guardian, ESPN, NBC, and many others.

John Aldred: from diyphotography.netJohn Aldred is a photographer with over 20 years of experience in the portrait and commercial worlds. He is based in Scotland and has been an early adopter - and occasional beta tester - of almost every digital imaging technology in that time. As well as his creative visual work, John uses 3D printing, electronics and programming to create his own photography and filmmaking tools and consults for a number of brands across the industry.

Dunja Djudjic: from diyphotography.netDunja Djudjic is a multi-talented artist based in Novi Sad, Serbia. With 15 years of experience as a photographer, she specializes in capturing the beauty of nature, travel, and fine art. In addition to her photography, Dunja also expresses her creativity through writing, embroidery, and jewelry making.

Copyright © DIYPhotography 2006 - 2023 | About | Contact | Advertise | Write for DIYP | Full Disclosure | Privacy Policy