Black Bear Becomes Surprise Star of Wildlife Cameras in Boulder, Colorado, Taking Hundreds of ‘Selfies’

A curious black bear has become the surprise star of wildlife cameras set up in Boulder, Colorado, taking hundreds of “selfies” in an apparent impromptu photoshoot, local officials said.

The city’s Open Space and Mountain Parks (OSMP) team set out to track animals that live in the area using motion-capture cameras. However, they were surprised to find that of the 580 images captured by one camera, around 400 were of the same bear.

Rangers in the OSMP department placed a series of cameras across some 46,000 acres to secretly observe local animals in the wild. While the cameras often capture animals, including coyotes, beavers and black bears out in the wild, officials said most creatures don’t typically notice the devices and just “walk on by.”

This particular bear, however, appeared to be captivated by the camera. OSMP tweeted earlier this week that they could bear-ly contain their glee when they discovered that about 400 of the 580 photos from one camera featured a very photogenic bruin.

The team is now using the bear’s selfies to help them better understand the local wildlife population and their habits. They hope that the bear’s selfies will help them to better protect the animals and their habitats.