Call it a Yogi Bear story of sorts with an all-too-friendly bear sniffing picnic baskets on a Port Moody, B.C. beach with an anxious park ranger in hot pursuit.

A black bear has been approaching sunbathers at the White Pine Beach in the Belcarra Regional Park since Thursday, eating their lunches and stirring public safety concerns.

But locals don’t seem to mind.

A citizen’s Facebook video, now gaining nearly 100,000 views as of Sunday afternoon, shows the hungry creature playfully going from one beach blanket to another poking its nostrils into beach bags.

A Slavic-speaking woman holding the video camera, knee-deep in water just metres away from the bear, gives a light commentary about the furry bear, while children in the background can be heard laughing.

A BC Conservation Services conservation officer now tasked with tracking and trapping the bear says unlike the 1950s TV cartoon bear looking for "pic-a-nic baskets," this creature should be seen as a real danger, and not entertainment.

“That behavior is not natural. That bear should be nowhere near those people,” says Eric Tyukodi on Sunday.

The officer says the bear is exhibiting human “food conditioning” and habituation towards people, especially when people are careless about their garbage or leaving food unattended.

“The picnic food is easier than its natural behavior of foraging and hunting.”

“And if mom didn’t train them the best, then they’ve accessed [picnic] food before and learned this behaviour, and that’s why they keep coming back.

“Just like Yogi Bear,” he said.

Conservation officials tried "hazing" the bear with scare tactics, but the bear just keeps on coming back to the beach and concession stand.

Tyukodi set up a trap Saturday night with the hopes of humanely capturing the bear and taking it to a facility for assessment before deciding its fate. They hope to not have to kill it.

For now, the White Pine Beach has been closed to vehicle access, including public buses. The rest of the park remains open, but patrollers are warning hikers about the creature, and advising that they continue at their own risk.