Viral video shows Chhattisgarh man giving ‘Maaza’ to wild bear, internet furious

A video from Chhattisgarh’s Kanker drict has triggered outrage after it showed a young man feeding a wild bear a bottle of cold drink. The clip, reportedly filmed for an Instagram reel, captures the youth approaching a bear while holding a bottle of “Maaza”, a mango fruit juice. He sets the bottle down in front of the animal and walks away, glancing back at the camera with a smile, as the bear picks up the bottle and drinks from it. Forest Department has begun efforts to trace the young man seen in the footage.(X/@VishweshTi92858) According to a report Punjab Kesari, the clip was recorded in Nara village, Kanker drict, Chhattisgarh. The video has raised serious concerns among wildlife experts and authorities, and the Forest Department has begun efforts to trace the young man seen in the footage. How social media reacted?The video has also sparked widespread criticism online, with many social media users calling for strict action against the youth. Some also expressed concern that the bear could suffer long-term harm from consuming processed human food. One user wrote, “Dangerous and irresponsible! Wild bears aren’t for social media stunts—respect wildlife.” “Forest department should launch probe on itself so as to why wild bear is in a public area,” commented another. “Why the hell people giving unhealthy food to animals. THOSE ARE ONLY FOR HUMANS,” wrote a third user. “Maaza is not even safe for humans, but we Indians literally don’t have civic sense,” expressed one user. Notably, incidents like this are not isolated, as similar cases of people attempting to interact with wild animals for online attention have surfaced in the past. Conservations have repeatedly urged the public to act responsibly around wildlife and to avoid creating content that puts animals and humans at risk. Last month, a video showing a Spanish tour pouring beer down an elephant’s trunk sparked online outrage. The man posted the video on his Instagram profile but deleted it after facing massive backlash. Ol Jogi Conservancy in central Kenya’s Laikipia County, where the incident occurred, issued a statement, calling the tours’ behaviour “unacceptable, dangerous, and completely against the establishment’s values.”