Viewers help ID man taking selfie caught on wildlife cam
KATMAI NATIONAL PARK, Alaska - Viewers helped identify a man who wandered close to feeding bears to take selfies at Brooks Falls in Katmai National Park in Alaska when he walked into the camera's live stream.
The man was captured on an explore.org live stream wading into the river, taking photos of the bears standing on the falls and taking selfies in front of them.
Viewers who saw him reported him to Katmai rangers, the National Park Service said.
Park rangers say he and two others violated National Park Service wildlife viewing regulations which prohibits anyone from approaching within 50 yards of the bears using a concentrated food source like migrating salmon.
The area is closed from June 15 through August 15.
The group is facing charges of reckless endangerment and harassing wildlife, said the National Park Service. "People need to recognize that these are wild brown bears. These visitors are lucky that they escaped the situation without injury. The possible consequences for the bears and themselves could have been disastrous," said Mark Sturm, Superintendent.