I'm posting this here because a great many of the posts on this forum are from people planning on visiting the Rockies and many of those people are hoping to see bears.

If you visit the Rockies and are fortunate enough to see a bear, please:

- do NOT get out of your vehicle (assuming you're in one)
- do NOT approach the bears
- do NOT feed the bears
- DO read the handouts on being bear smart that you will receive when entering a national park.

I've seen people with their young children try to get close to bears to get a "better" picture. This is very dangerous for both the humans and the bears.

In today's news, there's a report of Chinese tourists who were trying to lure a grizzly bear and her cubs to their van to get a better photo. If the bear had taken the food (which thankfully she appears not to have), she could then start viewing humans as a food source and started approaching humans and become a problem bear who may have needed to be relocated or, in the worst case scenario, killed.

Unfortunately the tourists have returned to China and there's nothing else that can be done to prosecute them for this illegal activity.

http://www.calgaryherald.com/technology/Banff+grizzly+bears+meat+tourists+owned+based+Bestcan+Tours/7032048/story.html

Please come visit the Rockies and enjoy the beauty of the area, but please, please, please, be respectful of the wildlife.