The fact that yet another bear has been destroyed by wildlife managers seems to illustrate that there is a real disconnect for visitors to our valley when it comes to understanding the wildlife we share our space with.
While it’s all well and good that tourism organizations are working to attract ever increasing numbers of visitors to the area, and thus keep tourism-related tills full, it’s clear that more needs to be done in a preventative sense.
Yes, wildlife managers have the expertise to act when bears threaten or become a problem, but when the problem is created by people seemingly unaware that feeding bears outright, or leaving food in campsites as an attractant, is a problem; there’s a problem.
One wonders if visitors to natural areas in Florida, say, can be found chucking food to alligators in the hope of getting an unforgettable holiday image. Or, in the case of ‘gators, is there no warm fuzzy feeling associated with them, as with those used to Yogi or Pooh stereotypes?
As provincial and federal wildlife managers and Wildsmart have pointed out, and continue to point out, more needs to be done by way of educating visitors to the area. Naturally, the vast majority of visitors to our valley have no real reference point when it comes to wildlife like bears, elk, coyotes, etc.
To residents of this valley, it would seem ludicrous that anyone would think offering food to a bear could be construed as a good idea. But we live here and understand. For someone new to Canada, though, or who has spent their life mostly within the urban confines of Toronto, say, or Berlin, or Hong Kong, feeding a bear might innocently seem like a good idea at the time.
If one of your main reference points in regard to bears is Yogi, it’s easy to see how someone might think leaving out a “pic-a-nic basket” would be a good way to draw a bruin close for a photo.
Is the problem simply that so many people these days have no concept of the “nature” that surrounds us here? As David Suzuki has pointed out, kids these days can recognize hundreds of corporate logos at a very young age – but can’t name half a dozen duck species. They can bang out a text or tweet in milliseconds, set up a favourites folder for websites, or zap zombies with hand-held devices… but distinguish between a moose and elk?
It’s a people problem, not an animal problem.
Just like many people, and not just young people, have no clue of where the food they eat comes from, many have no natural feel, or appreciation, or understanding, of the natural world. For some, the backcountry might as well be the moon.
So what’s to be done? The trouble is, further engaging and educating visitors would cost money; which is always in short supply, especially with Parks Canada cutting as it is. And the Province isn’t exactly showering wildlife management departments with extra funding.
Banff National Park, in cooperation with Mountain Equipment Co-op, had the right idea in offering a camping 101 program for those new to the idea of tenting and living with wildlife, but clearly, more needs to be done.
Those who attended the camping program may be some of the most aware campers out there, now. But can millions of visitors be funneled through a similar program? Unlikely.
Education will continue to be an ongoing problem, but in the end, new ways to engage and educate visitors must be found, and paid for, whether it be apps, LED-type signs above park entrances or people on foot in campgrounds and at trailheads.
We simply can’t have a situation where bears, while a major attraction to this area, end up dead because of their own popularity and attractiveness.
