These Canadians Tried To Save This Poor Little Bear

"It was an experience worth the stitches, lemme tell you."

We recently asked why this man put a leash on this bear. And now we know.

via Eric Volpatti

The man holding the leash is Eric Volpatti and this little guy wandered into his neighbourhood in Montrose, British Columbia, on Oct. 9.

via Eric Volpatti

Volpatti told BuzzFeed Canada the bear had fallen off his neighbour's wall and was stumbling around as if it couldn't see. When it ran head-first into his truck three times, he knew he had to help.

via Eric Volpatti

At this point it was clear the bear was injured, so Volpatti called 911 for help. As he was on the phone, he put out a hand to stop the bear from running around.

"The bear was good, then it started running again in ciricles like it was lost," said Volpatti. That's when they got a dog leash.

via Eric Volpatti

"I don’t know why I did it, to be honest with you. I just didn’t want it to hurt itself."

via Eric Volpatti

Volpatti and his girlfriend got some apples to entice the bear to stay still. Though it ignored them when they put them on the ground, it was happy to take the apples from their hands.

via Eric Volpatti

But there's a reason why hand-feeding a bear is a dicey idea. As the bear was scarfing up some pieces, it bit Volpatti's hand, resulting in four stitches later that day.

via Eric Volpatti

"The nurse at the hospital said 'what are you doing petting a bear? It's a wild bear, you idiot.' And she gave me my tetanus shot," he said.

Eventually, the police showed up and hustled the bear into the back of their cruiser. Although — and we can't stress this enough — touching a wild bear is generally a very bad idea, in this case Volpatti said the officers told him he did the right thing.

Sadly, the officers decided the bear was too injured to survive and was taken to a wooded area to be put down.

"I just love animals. It was an experience worth the stitches, lemme tell you."

via Eric Volpatti

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