Originally published at: Ignoring a ranger, watch Yellowstone tourists get too close to a bear - Boing Boing
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Why do people so actively ignore a dangerous situation? Shesh.
Close-up guess: Maybe because they forget they’re not at a zoo?
Macro-lens guess: Maybe because our society of the spectacle has trained us to always act like we’re watching TV?
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Was this the ranger?
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when our public discourse has so many people choosing the bear, i’m not sure what else we can expect
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I think most people can tell the difference between a real bear and a hypothetical one.
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Want to get up close and personal with a grizzly? Just go hiking in their territory and forget to:
- bring only unscented toilet paper.
- leave the deodorant at home.
- wash your clothes with unscented laundry detergent and skip the anti-static sheet.
- set up a bear-bag at least 15’ off the ground and 10’ away from any tree trunks.
- put anything that could be food, such as soap, toothpaste, washcloths, camping-potty bags, or anything perfumed in the bag.
- pitch your tent at least 100 yards upwind from the food prep area and bear bag.
- remove any clothing that may smell like food. Or like much of anything else that a hungry bear might investigate on the possibility that it might be food, for that matter.
There are more suggested rules for avoiding bears, of course, but I think you get the point. The idea of getting near enough to Ursus Arctos Horribilis deliberately in order to get a good view or photo seems like sheer madness, but then I’ve seen what they can do to any tent, backpack, or deer carcass that attracts their interest.
It’s not pretty.
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Im a Activist for all animals especially for Grizzlies Bears and Wolves and any othere animals ive been trying to put this to a stop people dont under stand theses Grizzlies Bears are Dangerous people doesn’t understand they are in their territory when a Grizzlies Bears attack a person they are thinking about the bearswhen a Bears attack people the bear is killed and its not fair to the bear we need to come up with something to stop these people , Thank you Activist Tammy Carr
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I think I’ve posted this here before. I took this picture on a road trip we took to Yellowstone back in 2010. This is on the road between Grand Teton NP and Yellowstone NP.
The bear was just chilling on the side of the road, so of course people had to stop, get out, and take a picture.
When one of those idiots on the motorcycles started the engine, he reflexively gunned the engine, which made the bear stop what it was doing and look at him. Fortunately, he decided it wasn’t worth it, and went back to what he was doing.
We stayed in the car.
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People just don’t get the nature is potentially dangerous. I’ve seen people stuff a camera into the face of a rattlesnake to take picutres, seemingly unaware of the risks (I know rattlers won’t necessarily kill you, but why risk being that sick??).
I’ve got lots of blurry photos of nature and I’m okay with that. I’d love my polar bear picture to be more clear, but I wasn’t about to risk a second encounter. Sometimes, you just gotta be happy with what you get.
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Seriously, what is it with libertarians and bears?
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“Seriously, what is it with libertarians and acting sanely?”
FTFY
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Around here there are bears walking through the neighbourhood regularly. You do not leave food outside, you don’t put your trash outside until pickup day. You pick your fruit from the trees on time or expect a visit. Everyone knows to leave them alone. My kids have encountered bears walking home from school - they cross the road and carry on.
It was raining so we didn’t get out and pick our plum tree or grape vine early enough a couple of summers ago, so I now have a video of a black bear up in my grape trellis* feasting. He then climbed into the plum tree, snacked there, shat in my back yard and wandered off. The video is cool, but I’ll never make that mistake again.
*Humble brag, my trellis stayed up with a 400 lb bear sitting on it.
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Bear was on a low-fat, no pork diet.
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Every tourist in Yellowstone wants to see a bear; I get it. It’s natural to slow down and try to get a pic if you spot a grizzly from the road. But you stay in your freaking vehicle. Want a better pic? Buy a camera with a telescopic lens.
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… “horrible bear bear” 
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And maybe keep the windows rolled up too if the bear is close by…
@Mangochin they came up with an Instagram filter with a built-in warning to help out folks who have trouble understanding your graphic:
https://www.washingtonpost.com/travel/2024/08/22/wyoming-yellowstone-jackson-hole-instagram-filter-wildlife/
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People was eager to have literal bear hug.
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Ob:
People suggest making noise when hiking, since the last thing you want to do is surprise a bear… talking loudly, blowing a whistle, etc.
You should have a whistle anyway, in case you get lost.
You can determine the type of bear in the area by the scat they leave:
Black bears eat berries, fruit, seeds, etc, as well as small animals.
Brown bears are similar, but the scat will contain the remains of larger animals.
Grizzly bear scat will contain larger bone fragments and whistles.
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