Video: Canadian Golfer Pleads With Bear as It Steals His Clubs
A golfer in Canada had an unfortunate—not to mention pricey—run-in with a black bear that cost him his golf bag and clubs. And in the heat of the moment, he seemingly forgot that he was dealing with a potentially dangerous apex predator.
The incident occurred at Westwood Plateau Golf & Country Club in British Columbia, when the golfer, Jerome Jean-Yak, was about to tee up with a group of friends. In the first of two videos documenting the brazen theft, the bear strolls up to two of the group's golf carts and begins sniffing around.
Initially, the group laughs at the bear while making noises to attempt to scare it off. However, as the bear becomes interested in Jean-Yak's bag in the back of one of the carts, the situation quickly escalates. "He's gonna rip my golf bag," Jean-Yak can be heard saying in the video. "Hey! He's ripping my bag!"
@amritmohammed7 ♬ original sound - amritmohammed7
In the second video, which has been viewed 1.5 million times in less than 24 hours, the bear suddenly jerks the golf bag and makes off with it, dragging it down a ravine into the woods below. Chasing after the bear, Jean-Yak attempts to reason with the animal by yelling at it.
"I can't fucking believe that," he exasperates, as the bear disappears with his gear.
@amritmohammed7 ♬ original sound - amritmohammed7
In an interview with Global News, Jean-Yak admitted that chasing after the bear wasn't the wisest choice, but in the heat of the moment he could only think about saving his clubs and brand new golf bag.
"It came out of the woods, came to our carts, searched through our bags," he told the publication. "There was no food in any of the golf bags, but for some reason, it picked my bag to pull off the cart."
“It’s not unusual to see bears up here," Jean-Yak continued. "I had one walk across a green one time when I was putting and completely ignore us. My friend Peter and I were playing and the bear just walked right in front of us, across the green."
"But I’ve never seen a bear do something like that," he added.