Man wades into bears’ feeding area for selfie, could face criminal charges

A river selfie with some bears has landed a man in hot water in Alaska.

Anchorage Daily News reported that a man waded into a stream in Alaska's Katmai National Park and Preserve to get a photo with some brown bears that were fishing for salmon at Brooks Falls.

The section of the park was closed to tourists, the National Park Service said in a statement.

The encounter happened last week, KTVA reported.

But the closed status didn’t stop the man and two others from entering the restricted area.

Park service officials told the Daily News that the man used an emergency exit of a bear viewing platform to get a closer look at the wildlife.

The entire thing was caught on live streaming cameras.

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Viewers of the live streams alerted officials about the unauthorized bear encounter, KTVA reported.

"In doing so, the group violated National Park Service wildlife viewing regulations, putting themselves and wildlife at risk," Mark Sturm, superintendent of Katmai National Park, told the Daily News.

Charges are pending. It is illegal to be within 50 yards of a bear that is “using a concentrated food source.”

“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,” Strum said.

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