Words fail me.

rolf_f

OP clearly hasn't been to the Rocky Mountains.......

When you are walking in the woods and pass signs warning you to be careful not to disturb the local cougars, bears and wolves you might think having a spray to protect yourself with is a good thing.

It's not as though the animals don't themselves come into the towns. Bears often come into town to root through the bins. In Banff, the chap who ran the B&B I stayed in told me about a bear that took to hanging around the main street for several days. All sorts of Japanese tourists kept crowding round the bear having pictures taken with it presumably entirely oblivious of the fact that it was a wild bear that had just ambled in from the forest and which was quite capable of killing them in seconds.

Short of moving out of the mountains altogether, some mingling between man and wildlife is inevitable and it makes sense to carry something to protect yourself if you are out there on your own (unlike me who went into the woods on my own with nothing more than a couple of alloy walking poles to defend myself with!).

rjsterry

itboffin wrote:

The funniest bear photo at an event I've seen was the one greg66 posted whilst competing in the IM Canada when you think about it if i was a hungry bear I'd go hunting there as well, hundreds of slow knackered people in prime physical condition most likely all vegetarion as well and too weak to resist.

Bit stringy, no?