Trail Mix: Don't Feed The Bears

In our journeys we’ve seen and heard some pretty unnecessary tales of human interactions with wildlife. Whether it is smearing peanut butter on trees or feeding Big Macs to foxes all in hopes of a better photograph, people’s curiosity of nature can harm us in the long run. Jasper National Park is actually removing online bear warnings because it is attracting more people to come to the area for bear selfies.

The recent photo from the B.C. Conservation Service is probably the most Canadian however… someone feeding a Timbit to a bear. Thankfully they were hit with a $2,000 fine (and humorously a restraining order placed against them and fellow bears).

It’s a good reminder that it’s not always YOU that will suffer from the interaction with the bear. Tracking points have shown that once bears learn that campsites contain easy to access food, they create a route and keep returning to the same sites in hopes of an unhung food barrel, or tasty treats left out on a picnic table. Future campers will suffer the effects from a lazy camper in the past.

I’m sure our readers already manage their food, but again, it does serve as a good reminder. Now how do you hang your food? That’s a topic for another day (and usually controversial). Check out Kevin Callan’s recent video on the subject...