Just Say No: Selfies With Bears

Apparently, there is a new and incredibly stupid trend making its way around the interwebs these days.You know, I am a fan of both animals and nature photos. I post a daily squee on my Facebook page so we can start the day off by looking at something cute and fluffy. And I will be among the first to admit that bears--all kinds, all sizes/shapes/ages--can be pretty frickin' adorable.I mean...look at those wet baby bear ears. D'awwww! D'oh! Who wants a skritch?My point is, I like cute animals. Right? Right.Unfortunately, Lake Tahoe officials have had to issue warnings lately because people have been taking too many selfies with bears.That's right. Selfies. With bears.Apparently, in the Taylor Creek area of South Lake Tahoe, bears have been out in relative abundance, primarily to get in a good feeding at the ol' fishing stream before hibernating. Nature photographers get great photos of bears when they're eating, sure. From a distance. With a mega-powered zoom lens.What they don't do is stand in front of a bear with their iPhones at the ready.I don't normally try and blame the victim but seriously, this girl would have had it coming.I thought I would lose my mind with fury when I read this. Initially, I was mad because it's just so stupid. Bears are unpredictable, kind of territorial, and (if they're on their way to fish), hungry. And you, dearest friends and readers, sport a relatively fragile body made almost entirely out of meat. And the thing is, if a bear mauls someone who's doing something incredibly stupid and provocative around a bear, then people will still go after the bear. And kill it in revenge, while the bear's all like, "What did I do?"And then I was extra-furious, because...people...the world is not one big Disney amusement park. Not everything is sanitized for your protection, all situations are not rendered safe, and bears aren't all friendly creatures with whom you can eat honey and trade belly rubs. This isn't reality TV, this is reality. If you saw that weird, twitchy guy at the mall, you wouldn't pose for a selfie in front of him, would you? No, you'd give that guy some space in case he'd snap. So...why on Earth would you pose in front of a thing with less capacity for reason, who's got, essentially, scimitars on the ends of their paws?Please, people. In the interests of bears, and sanity, stop living as though your world view has been taken from a Disney movie. It's not fair to the bear. And it's potentially really...really...detrimental to your well being.I realize that now, bears are going down for the winter, so this information most likely won't be relevant until the spring (though, of course, bears can be woken up fairly easily during hibernation, so...no rattling cans of bear chow on winter hikes, people). But for the love of all that is sensible, leave the 600 pound killing machines to themselves.Here's what to do if you find yourself on the wrong end of a bear attack.And for the members of the gay community who love their big ol' bears...go to it, friends. This has nothing to do with you.Here's a little ditty by The Magnetic Fields to play you out.[youtube=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YKTBPNehkZ4]