A Vancouver Island tour operator was travelling by boat north of Campbell River in the hopes of showing passengers a bear on the beach.
Instead, he found one swimming in the water.
Nick Templeman, the owner of Campbell River Whale & Bear Excursions, captured video of a black bear doing something like a doggy paddle near Phillips Arm on Canada Day.
In a Facebook post, Templeman noted that the bear’s “back left leg was paw up and steering like a boat rudder.”
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He watched the bear climb out of the water and onto the shore.
Templeman said on Facebook that such sightings are rare. He has only seen a bear in the water once before, more than a decade ago.