Bears, bears everywhere

Last month, when I was visiting friends and family out East, I stopped by a friend's 30th birthday at a cabin in the woods. On my way out, I waved goodbye and one of the guys wished me a safe drive and told me to watch out for bears. Right, because the East coast is just teeming with bears.

In Whistler, on the other hand, bears aren't just something you see on the National Geographic channel. This year alone, I've seen more bears than I have fingers and toes. Everywhere from the Whistler village to golf courses to a teenage bear running full tilt across the highway. I even had to cut a dog walk short when I started out the driveway and realized there was a bear rooting around in my neighbour's garage.

I'm a big fan of taking the dog for hikes in the woods, but I'm a bit freaked out about bears, seeing how O has never seen one yet. I could make it easy on myself and put his bear bell on his collar, but that would be too easy. So instead, I yell out strange noises every few metres. I'm sure the dog thinks I'm going crazy.

You know, it makes me sad when I read things in the paper about bears having to be put down because of negative interactions with people. So many times I have seen cars pulled over on the side of the road, with eager tourists taking photos of bears who are walking around in people's front yards. I was even at a restaurant in the village once when a bear walked right past the window, which should have been cool enough. But no, one (not so) smart guy decided he should bring his young children outside and walk around in the bushes trying to get a closer view of the bear!

I know they are cute and look so cudley, but all of this human interaction can't be good. So please, next time you see one, please just drive on, unless you are really far away and have a good zoom on your camera.