Stop taking selfies with bears, hikers warned

The Daily Mail (U.K.) / various ^ | October 27, 2014 | Sara Malm

[Stoat]

Hikers in Sierra Nevada are being told to stop taking selfies with the wild bears.

The worrying and very real trend has seen visitors to South Lake Tahoe, California, put themselves at risk to get a share-able snap of themselves with a bear in the background.

Hikers have got as close as a few feet away from the wild bears, and officials have now been forced to send out an official warning.

 

(edit)

A recent visitor at the site said she saw dozens of people taking selfies with the bears, who were unafraid of the group.

‘There were like 30 people taking pictures of themselves with the bears,’ Manutsawee Buapet told ABC News.

‘They weren’t scared at all of the people and one bear cub came as close as two feet to the tourists.’

 

[Cyman]

If they need to be told they are only harmful to our gene pool.

[thackney]

I remember when it happened. We had just left Alaska and I drove a Ford Bronco much like the one in the picture. It stuck with me.

[RightGeek]

[neocon1984]

Sometimes we just have to thin the herd. There are way too many idiots out there.

[CivilWarBrewing]

If the bears had Ebola the government would encourage us to play with them.

[CivilWarBrewing]

Gotta love it! ROFL!

[CivilWarBrewing]

[Inyo-Mono]

‘They weren’t scared at all of the people and one bear cub came as close as two feet to the tourists.’

That is the biggest problem right there, wild animals; bears, mountain lions, coyotes, etc. become habituated to humans and the next thing you know you have an attack. I live in the Sierra and have noticed that tourists from the city have no idea how dangerous predators can be. One woman even asked me where she could go to "hug a bear." Crazy.

[Yaelle]

What about bear selfies? There are some lonely Jennifer Lawrence bears out there that just go too far.

[Snickering Hound]

[CivilWarBrewing]

[Slings and Arrows]

---

[Lady Jag]

DONATE

[LucyT]

But I thought you had keys.

[azishot]

LOL!!

Maybe they were having a “Chinese Fire Drill”? (The act of, upon reaching a stop light/sign, all the members of a vehicle bail out and dash laps around the car until the light changes.)

[Carpe Cerevisi]

[LucyT]

[PROCON]

[Daffynition]

What's the plan when the bear wants the camera for a selfie?

[RichInOC]

Slings, we’re surrounded by idiots.