Heart-stopping video shows passersby intervene when man taunts black bear in tourist hotspot: 'Leave him alone'

Just because a bear looks like it wants to shop at the same store as you does not mean you should approach the bear. A man did this to a roving black bear outside a Roots clothing store in Whistler, Canada, recently, prompting a stern warning from the Conservation Officer Service.

"We understand residents and visitors may be accustomed to seeing black bears but we ask people to never feed or approach bears," said a spokesperson for the service, according to Pique Newsmagazine.

In the video, a black bear can be seen ambling up the stairs toward the store's front door, where it ignores a man sitting calmly on the railing. When another man walks up to the bear and gets in its face with his phone, the bear becomes agitated. Eventually, it wanders off peacefully, fortunately for the man and the bear.

People in the background shouted, "Leave him alone!" as the man yelled and made aggressive movements toward the bear.

Whether in the wild or in an urban area frequented by bears, approaching the animals is never a good idea. Most immediately, bears can feel threatened when approached. According to Parks Canada, bears are known to react aggressively when surprised at close range — exactly what the man in the video did.

And you're never going to win a fight with an aggressive bear.

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Plus, serious bear encounters with humans often end with the bear being trapped and euthanized, depriving the ecosystem of a crucial upper cog in the food chain. That same month in Whistler, a bear with a history of conflict encounters with people was killed.

The man in the video who sat calmly on the railing without antagonizing the bear or making quick movements is a great example of how to react in that situation. Slowly and deliberately moving away would have been good too. Either way, it is vital that humans respect wildlife and their surroundings.

As one commenter said, "The guy chilling on the railing had the right idea: 'nothing to see here, move along Fluffy.'"