A 34-year-old man reassured his worried family concerning photos he had taken of polar bears in the wild shortly before being fatally attacked by two of the predators on a remote island in Canada.
Christopher Best was working cleaning fuel tanks for North Warning System on Brevoort Island in August of 2024, awaiting security clearance to start work in logistics.
According to The Canadian Press, Best was an avid animal photographer and had captured pictures of the local polar bears. One such image was uploaded to his Instagram page on August 7, 2024, a day before his death.
When his family learned he’d been taking photos of the apex predators, they were naturally concerned. Yet Best reassured them that there was nothing to worry about.
“They’re not close to us,” Best told his stepdad, according to The Canadian Press. His mom, Shelly Cox, recalled him saying: “You know, I know [the] difference, right?”
The aforementioned image uploaded to Instagram was captioned: “Polar Bear hanging around the site at BAF-3.” As per the Nasittuq Corporation (the company that operates North Warning System) that image was taken from the safety of a vehicle.
Best, however, was keen to snap more photos, and so asked a wildlife monitor to alert him if further polar bears were sighted nearby. When he finished his shift on August 8, he was told that a polar bear was outside.
The 34-year-old headed out, unaware that a second bear was also in the area.
As per reports, surveillance footage showed the second bear cutting off Best’s retreat. It then charged him, with the first bear quickly joining the attack.
“I don’t think he would have went out if he would have known that second bear was there,” his mom, Shelly, told The Canadian Press.
Nasittuq Corporation delivered a report after conducting an investigation, offering a raft of new safety measures to prevent future bear attacks.
“We care deeply for the safety and well-being of all our employees and feel for everyone who continues to be affected by this tragic incident,” the company told The Canadian Press.
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