Man Glued to his Phone Shows the “Survival Instincts of a Potato” after Failing to Spot a Bear Right Behind Him
There are few people who don’t get distracted by their mobile phones, but a man in Romania took it to another level when he failed to notice his life was potentially in danger. Filmed on the Transfăgărășan, the country’s famous high-altitude mountain road, a viral video clip shows a tourist standing at the roadside, absorbed in his phone, paying no attention to a bear sauntering over towards him from behind.
The footage, captured by a fellow traveler who tried to force the bear to move by rolling their car forward, shows the bear approaching the man. The bear sniffed the ground and looking curiously at him until it gets close enough to sniff around his legs. Incredibly, the man just continues scrolling his phone without so much as a twitch. It takes the bear walking around to the front of him and standing directly in his line of sight before it finally provokes a reaction.
Even then, there is a moment when the pair look at each other while the man processes what he’s looking at. Only then does he bolt for his car, thankfully not pursued by the bear. As expected, reactions to the video have included many comments questioning how it was possible for the man to be so engrossed in his phone that he couldn’t tell the animal was right next to him.
Not Everyone Sees the Humor in This Bear Incident
Despite the incident passing without any injury to the man, and the whole thing being seen as a humorous moment from everyday life, officials are not quite seeing the funny side. Sabin Cornoiu, who heads the Salvamont mountain rescue service, noted that the bigger story people are missing is how unperturbed the bear is when it comes to being around people and vehicles. The man standing still for so long could have made the bear realise there was nothing to fear, and that, in his words, means “the bear has gained courage and is showing its true intentions.”
Any bear that becomes comfortable around people and is given no reason to be wary of them is more likely to begin approaching more of them. This time, it didn’t end with the bear doing anything to the man, but that could still have been possible. The Transfăgărășan cuts through the Făgăraș Mountains, known as one of the most bear-dense parts of Europe.
The area attracts thousands of visitors every year, but with several thousand bears and thirty bear-related deaths in the last two decades, there is an increased danger of attacks when people aren’t paying attention. Not every bear encounter ends badly, but that doesn’t mean people should be encouraged to get close to the animals for their own viral moment.
The man in this new video managed to get away unscathed, but the next person spending more time with their eyes fixed on their phone at the side of the road may not be quite so lucky.
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