Thursday, June 10, 2010

Tasty Tourists

Tourist try for that perfect picture of a feeding black bear.


Sometimes I think we've gotten too far away from nature for our own good. This is an all too typical sight. Visitors to bear country want to get a good picture and forget all common sense in doing it.
Bears, no matter how engrossed they are in their food, simply cannot be trusted. These men are doing something that no one should do.
As for my pic of them, I have a healthy respect for any bear. I used a zoom lens, shot quickly, and knew that the bear would have to eat his way through both of them before it got to me. I had plenty of time to get away.

9 comments:

Barbara Martin said...

Although I write horror stuff in my stories, this is all too real. It doesn't take much for a feeding bear to think these humans are interested in his food. I guess they forgot, or no one told them a black bear can run at 35 mph in a burst of speed. They'd be toast in no time.

Good thing to be well away from them, even in a car one isn't quite safe. I've heard stories of black bears taking out windshields.

carla said...

yeah I DO NOT get it either.
I lost my SIL in a freak animal accident and it consistently weighs on my mind when I see things like circuses and vegas shows as well, Leah
why do we think we can (and should!) tame wildlife.

I cant even address the moronitude of the men in the photo :)

Leah J. Utas said...

Barbara, my guess is they either don't know, or still think it can't happen to them.
It's appalling, but I've seen it more often than I can think about without shuddering.
The only safe way with a bear is far away.

Carla, I'm sorry about your SIL. May I ask what happened? It galls and sickens me that we tame them for our own entertainment.

As for these fellows, well, "moronitude" is a great word.

David Cranmer said...

"..bear would have to eat his way through both of them before it got to me" had me chuckling this morning.

Hilary said...

I see gray hair on those heads. They're certainly old enough to know better.. geesh.

I remember meeting up with some folks while camping in Newfoundland eons ago. They were telling about a failed (thankfully) attempt to get a photo of one of them on the back of a moose! They were in hysterics recalling how one of them held a camera in one hand and a gun in the other "just in case" while the other guy tried to get near to, and on the poor critter's back. A moose!

Needless to say, they didn't even get close enough but they were willing to try, and should the animal have acted like an animal is supposed to in the face such stupidity, they were willing to kill it to protect their idiotic selves. Asswipes!

Joanna Jenkins said...

I am laughing out loud at your post-- Eat their way through them to get to you....
Hahahahahaha.
Well done.
jj

Leah J. Utas said...

Joanna, glad I made you laugh.

the Bag Lady said...

I agree with you - society has gotten far, far away from reality, and so many people seem to have a severe lack of common sense.
They do idiotic things, but if the bear had charged them, it would have been the bear's fault.
sheesh.

Leah J. Utas said...

It's very sad, df Bag Lady. Not much sense trying to straighten them out on it either.