The snowboarder who ‘accidentally’ captured footage of herself being chased by a bear has denied allegations the video is a fake.
Kelly Murphy uploaded footage of her snowboarding at Hakuba 47 Winter Sports Park in Japan which captured the moment she was chased down the slopes by a bear – without her realising, reports The Mirror.
The video shows her singing Rihanna’s hit Work as she boards down the mountain, holding her camera on what appears to be a selfie stick.
There was always some suspicion that the footage was fake – but a pretty intense argument has now erupted over the video’s authenticity.
However, Kelly insists that the footage is genuine, telling The Independent:
Yes the video is real! I didn’t know anything was happening at the time but it’s so scary to watch it back now!
I think I’ll stick to the runs with my friends from now on lol.
There are a number of reasons most people now believe the footage to be fake.
The bear stays the same distance behind the board as it moves in and out of shot and Kelly doesn’t look like she was travelling fast enough to outrun the animal.
Also, her YouTube channel boasts a couple of related – although admittedly bearless – videos, but it was only set up a matter of days before…
On the other hand, Skihabuka.com suggests that it is actually possible – apparently Asiatic black bears are spotted pretty frequently during the year.
They hibernate from November till March and the site says:
You are unlikely to see it unless you are in Hakuba for spring skiing (April and early May) and even then you would have to be very lucky to see one.
So it’s the right time of year then, but it’s got to be fake. Hasn’t it?
