Man told family not to worry about polar bear photo days before fatal attack

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.