Whistler, a popular tourist destination, is known for its skiing, snowboarding, and snowmobiling in the winter and hiking, biking, rafting, and ziplining in the summer. It is also full of local wildlife. Visitors can see cougars, deer, marmots, pikas, squirrels, otters, and bears, among many other animals. However, just like any wild creatures in the U.S., these animals should be given their space. Unfortunately, many tourists' curiosity gets the better of them. Instagram user @big_cheese_house shared a video with Tourons of Yellowstone depicting some tourists in Whistler behaving poorly and invading a bear's space. The caption reads, "Tourons in Whistler. At the steps of a hotel when we saw people walking straight up to this bear on a bike path."
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The black bear actively moves away from the people walking on the bike path, moving further into the trees. But the tourists do not take the hint. One man casually walks down the path following the bear. A woman walks by but sees the crowd of people gathering around the bear, so she doubles back to take some photos of him too.
Commenters felt terrible for the bear. One wrote, "Please stop! Stop harassing animals, for the love of god! Everyone knows what a bear looks like! Leave it alone." Another agreed: "Seriously! Unfortunately, many people can't respect other humans, so they're certainly not going to have any respect for the animals. Bummer for the animals."
It's recommended that tourists stay at least 25 yards away from wildlife whenever possible. Since this is a bike path, it may not be easy to stay that far away, but people can still pass by respectfully. The man in the blue shirt is doing the exact opposite, garnering a lot of commentary about his behavior from Tourons of Yellowstone's followers. One viewer wrote, "Oh, the blue shirt dude in the sweatpants has nothing to worry about.. he's probably Cali tough!" Another agreed, writing, "It's all in that walk."
Though the best comment showcases one viewer's take on a popular Alanis Morissette song, "Cuz I got one hand in my pocket, and the other one is filming a black bear." Definitely creative, though we're pretty sure the Canadian-born singer would know to keep her distance from the bears!
READ MORE: The Biggest Black Bears Ever Hunted
