A home surveillance camera captured a frightening scene of a mother saving her toddler from running towards a black baby bear spotted in their backyard. Recorded in Samantha Martin's house in Redmond, 15 miles east of Seattle, with a greenway and local golf course located nearby, wild animals are very easily seen from the family's home.
According to the footage, the little girl is seen excitedly running towards the black cub as her mother rushes across the room and lifts her daughter into her arms.
Describing the incident, Martin told Fox13 that her daughter was watching a movie when she saw the wild animal walking along a concrete path in their garden. Martin believes that the infant may have secretly unlocked the patio door before she sprinted outside.
The little girl had learned how to identify bears through a picture book and since the creature was her favorite animal she couldn't resist reaching out to the cub. Martin explained that her main concern was the mother bear because she could have been close by and would also have attacked the infant fearing the safety of her cub.
Due to her love for birds, Martin had installed bird feeders in her backyard, which she learned was the reason behind the cub entering their garden. The animal was eating out of the feeders. In order to avoid a similar incident in the future she immediately removed the feeders and has also added a child safety lock in the patio door, the Daily Mail reported.
"I love birds, but I also don't want bears to continuously come into the yard, so I'm not putting the bird seed back up," said Martin.
With the black bear population estimated to range between 25,000 and 30,000, the incident prompted the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW) to issue an alert for the end of hibernation season, as more hungry bears can be seen in the region in the coming months. Local authorities have further advised against leaving any food item outside, irrespective of whether it is in public or in the resident's yard.
Highlighting the removal of bird feeders, Chase Gunnell, WDFW spokesperson mentioned that feeders can be a "real attractant" for bears and other wild animals. Officials further stated that if a resident encounters a bear, they should not panic and run, instead they should make the animal aware of human presence either by singing or speaking a bit loudly.
