‘Down!’: Hilarious moment guy orders bear to leave his bird-feeder alone and the huge beast obeys by climbing down tree
- A bear climbed a tree to get to a bird feeder in Steamboat Springs in Colorado
- Scott Bixby saw the bear and managed to get it to back off by telling it ‘down’
- After getting lots of advice on social media Scott took the bird feeder down
Talking to a wild bear like a pet dog would probably not be any expert’s recommended protocol but it certainly worked for these guys.
Scott Bixby saw a wild bear eating from a bird feeder in Steamboat Springs, Colorado, and got the bear back off by repeatedly telling it ‘down’.
Scott and the person he was with jokingly named the bear Teddy Graham, after the bear-shaped cracker snacks.
A bear climbed a tree to get to a bird feeder in Steamboat Springs, Colorado, but was told to climb down by Scott Bixby
Scott clapped his hands and repeatedly told the bear ‘down’ which the bear remarkably obeyed
The video starts with a panicked voice asking Scott what to do as Scott walks out onto the deck towards the bear who has climbed a tree to reach the bird feeder.
The bear seems to casually watch Scott and he tells it to stop munching on the feed.
Remarkably when Scott claps his hands and says ‘down’ the bear obeys the command and starts to slowly shuffle down the tree.
‘Don’t fall off but down,’ says Scott.
The bear decides to give it another go and tries to climb back up to the bird feeder but is eventually convinced to continue its descent.
Scott and the man filming realise how tall the tree is as the deck turns out to be a balcony high up near the top of the trees.
Looking down at the bear sliding down the tree trunk Scott says: ‘That’s actually super impressive.’
The man filming the interaction says to the bear: ‘That’s really far down bud.
‘Be careful.’
Scott and the man filming the incredible interaction were impressed at how high of a tree the bear had managed to climb
Scott posted the video on social media with the caption: ‘Any tips for bear-proofing a birdfeeder?’
Thousands of people responded joking about Scott talking to a bear like a puppy and suggesting different ways of keeping bears away.
‘One user said: ‘Take it down.
‘A fed bear is a dead bear: if bears get used to eating food provided by humans they will become nuisance bears and will end up shot.
‘In some places there are penalties for feeding bears, even by accident.’
Scott later posted that they had followed this advice and taken the bird feeder down.
‘We love Teddy Graham too much to get him in trouble with the Bear Patrol,’ he said.