Two childhood memories I will never forget:
1. An idiot in the Chimneys picnic area of the Great Smokies was smearing jelly on his two young childrens faces so that he could get a photo of a nearby bear licking their faces. He was furious when several people interceded. That was long before the days of cellular or he would have been having a long chat with the ranger service.
2. A young woman was sunbathing on a blanket near the Newfound Gap area (the border between TN and NC on what was then still US-441). She had fallen asleep with a bottle of Coke next to her and she woke up to a bear licking the spilled Coke from her stomach. She came through without physical harm but is probably still in therapy over the incident 🙂
That was back in the 1960s before they changed to "bear proof" garbage containers in the park so these sorts of incidents are very rare now. Bears are still bears and tourists haven't gotten any smarter but the park service has matured. And yes handouts are still a problem and some bears are relocated and rarely but unfortunately some must be destroyed after they become to used to being around people.
My only really dumb (as an adult) animal feeding was freeing a trapped coyote pup I discovered on my way to work one morning. He had been climbing around a field drainage tile and some scrap concrete used to reduce erosion had shifted and trapped a hind paw. I sacraficed the sandwich that was going to be lunch that day and calmed him down and got his foot loose. He then tried to follow me to my car while his mother was yipping at him from a rise in the field (maybe she was telling me thank you but I doubt it). Probably not the smartest move ever but unlike people I rarely find a troublesome animal 🙂
Rodger
EOS 1DX M3, 1DX M2, 1DX, 5DS R, M6 Mark II, 1D M2, EOS 650 (film), many lenses, XF400 video
