Last summer I rode my bike up to Bullard’s Bar Lake
“Please do not feed the Bears. If you give food to the bears, they will come to expect it and become aggressive. You will be putting future campers at risk.”
I thought about this for a minute. If campers regularly give food to the bears, then the bears don’t have to work for their meals and have no need to hunt. They simply show up at the campsite and partake of the garbage du jour and whatever else is offered them. They are satisfied and happy. They come to expect the free food and grow accustomed to the routine. They have no need to learn how to hunt or fight for their food; it’s simply given to them. They aren’t going to go out and wonder the hillsides and valleys looking for sustainable nutrients when it’s readily available with little to no effort at the local campground. Ask Yogi.
Now why do you think the park rangers are so concerned about campers feeding the bears? The campers most likely have more food then they can eat and so it seems reasonable that they offer their picanic basket leftovers to the friendly neighborhood bear population. What can possibly be wrong with that? It’s an act of generosity and compassion. It shows we care. If feeding bears is wrong, I don’t want to be right!
Could it be the park rangers know more then we do? They must know from experience that bears become accustomed to getting their food free. They must also know that when bears regularly get their food free, they come to expect it with the same regularity. When that regularity is interrupted, they become divas and turn all grouchy. Grouchy bears can tear campgrounds apart and rip faces off. That can be problem for a stingy camper with no food.
A problem that the union representing the bear population claims is the campers fault. Some campers refuse to provide food that the bear union claims rightfully belongs to the bears. The bears have been told that they are entitled to the food. They feel strongly that humans have too much food and should hand it out to those bears who failed to learn how to hunt for their own. After all, they should not be expected to hunt because their food has always been given to them and hunting is hard! It also stigmatizes bears as manual laborers and second class animals. Anyone who demands that bears find their own food is obviously a heartless Bear hater!
Of course the rangers know what the bears believe, but every time they try to convince the bears that they would be better off in the long term learning to procure their own food, the bears get together and occupy the ranger station, leave bear scat everywhere and tear garbage dumpsters apart while eating hallucinogenic berries.
Eventually, the park rangers probably came to the conclusion that the bears simply didn’t care to survive on their own and felt entitled to free food forever. They had no choice but to make the tough but crucial decision to post the no feeding signs at all campgrounds and enforce it. The rangers installed bear proof food containers and maintained a tenacious vigilance in enforcing the rules…………...
****So how would you like this to end? In order to show some sensitivity toward your personal feelings and preferences, I will provide you with two different conclusions to this episode and you can decide for yourself which one you prefer! *******
- The bears grew frustrated that their free food was gone. They howled and yelped with cries of unfairness and they grew hungry. They met with the leader of the animal kingdom, an arrogant self centered Lion who hated campers. This lion took got great satisfaction knowing that the bears would become dependent upon him. He gave them meat and comforted them. He told them he would make things fair and feed them all forever as long as they were devoted to him. The bears were happy and their bellies were full! The lion sent his pack of hyenas to pester and harass the campers as punishment for their selfishness and greed. The campers eventually stopped coming and the campground withered and died. The bears soon realized that they were now totally dependent on the arrogant lion. The lion told them great stories about valleys full of free food and sweet honey; he convinced them he had their best interests in his heart but nothing he said ever actually came true. He had lied to them all. Then the day came when the meat was gone. The bears discovered that the meat they received from the lion for their devotion this whole time had been stolen from the very campers he chased away with his hyenas! No campers meant no meat! Hungry and betrayed, the bears had no choice but to eat the lion.
Or
- The bears grew frustrated that their free food was gone. They knew that their young cubs had to eat and they could not afford to expend any more energy damaging property and whining about the rules. They sent their strongest and fastest bears to cross the great forest in search of other bear who knew how to hunt and survive on their own. They learned the great hunting and foraging skills they lacked and returned to their bear community where they shared the knowledge they had obtained. Over time, and after significant effort, the bears were able to feed themselves and their cubs. The ensuing generations prospered greatly and over time the campers returned to the campgrounds. The bears told their cubs about the great food starvation of their ancestors so that they would never again make the mistake of becoming dependent on handouts for their survival. The arrogant lion despised the bears, who did not seem to want or need his free meat. The arrogant lion tried to send his hyenas to steal meat from the bears for his other followers but the hyenas had grown lazy and fat. Without meat the arrogant Lion and his dependents grew hungry and weak. The lion swallowed his pride and asked the bears for food. The bears agreed to help the lion and the others, but required that they participate in the hunting and foraging. The lion and his hyenas took on responsibilities and became skilled hunters. They had meat for themselves and meat to trade for lettuce and fresh nuts. They realized that the work was hard but rewarding and they developed a sense of self worth and respect for others. The lion had learned a great lesson about the animals in his kingdom.
I love a happy ending.
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