This cute viral video of a bear patting a dog has a very, very dark side

Video footage of a polar bear petting a dog in Churchill, Manitoba has been delighting the internet.

It shows a massive polar bear being gentle with a little dog, patting it on the head and keeping its claws to itself.

In this icy region of Canada, sled dogs are still regularly used and occasionaly cross paths with polar bears.

The video first appeared on Monday, but since then conservation officers have revealed some dark details regarding polar bears in that area.

According to CBC, footage was taken on land owned by resident Brian Ladoon.

CBC has reported that in early November local conservation officers had removed three polar bears.

One of these was taken to a holding facility, precisely because it had killed a sled dog on Ladoon's property.

Speaking to CBC, Ladoon explained that one of the dogs had been eaten.

That was the only day we didn't feed the f****** bears, the only night we didn't put anything out.

Ladoon also said that he takes tourists to see the polar bears for a small fee.

Feeding polar bears and other endangered species is strictly prohibited by wildlife regulations.

Ian Stirling, a wildlife expert and professor at the University of Alberta, warned that Ladoon's actions were dangerous for the sled dogs he kept outside.

Inuit [hunters] over the years in the high Arctic have told me that if you want a dog to act as a guard dog, you have to leave it off a chain. Because if it's on a chain it knows it's vulnerable and it won't bark.

Moreover, he warned that feeding the polar bears could lead them to attempt to approach other human settlements, resulting in their execution.

It's basically a death sentence for bears.

Both the polar bear and the dog from the video appear to have cheated death for the time being.

HT CBC

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