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Question about Law Re: Approach Distance to Grizzly Bears

E

Evolute

Joined
Mar 19, 2001
Messages
4,769
Hi, Folks,

I'm having a bit of a thorny issue in a wildlife photography forum I moderate, on another site.

There's a photographer on that site who gets very close to wild grizzlies in Alaska, to photograph them. VERY close – as in, within touching distance, literally. I'm concerned that this guy is the next Timothy Treadwell in the making. It appears to me that he is acting with disregard to his own life, and acting irresponsibly to the bears he photographs (i.e., many/most bears which attack people get destroyed by park or wildlife management, and many bears which become habituated to human presence have to be relocated, or retrained to fear people), and acting irresponsibly to the people who will encounter these bears after he has habituated the bears to very close human presence. His postings on the forum are also misleading other forum members to believe that his actions are safe and ethical.

As I prepare to deal with this photographer on the forum, in my capacity as moderator, I'm doing some research.

I'm hoping someone here can help me with finding out more about a specific law. In Denali National Park's bear safety precautions web page, here –

http://www.denali.national-park.com/hike.htm#bear

– it says:

Never intentionally approach a bear. Bears should live as free from human interference as possible, so give them space. It is illegal to approach within .25 mile / 0.4 km of a bear.
Click to expand...

Does anyone here know what law this page is referring to? Is it just the regulation for Denali National Park, or is state law, or county law, federal law, or regulation for all National Parks, or what?

I would also be interested in any other relevant laws, or online published guidelines, about bear approach distances, that you can direct me toward.

Thank you.
 
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getting near a grizzly without the intention of hunting it is insane IMHO.

has this guy ever seen how fast they can move? how totally outclassed a human being is, when caught close to them? there is a reason they say to keep subjective distances away from these beauties - a quarter mile can be covered by them in about the time it takes to scream "Oh Lord!!!!" once or twice....

my unsolicited advice; this guy should be taken off the forum just so that he doesn't lead others to follow his example, unless he really stresses that he shouldn't be copied or something, i don't know;

easier to just snip him.

vec
 
I don't know. I think there is similar guidance at Yellowstone NP. You might call a Ranger at Denali or YNP and ask about the legal basis for the regulation. Interesting question though.

From YNP web site:

Wild animals, especially females with young, are unpredictable. Keep a safe distance from all wildlife. Each year a number of park visitors are injured by wildlife when approaching too closely. Approaching on foot within 100 yards (91 m) of bears or wolves or within 25 yards (23 m) of other wildlife is prohibited. Please use roadside pullouts when viewing wildlife. Use binoculars or telephoto lenses for safe viewing and to avoid disturbing them. By being sensitive to its needs, you will see more of an animal's natural behavior and activity. If you cause an animal to move, you are too close! It is illegal to willfully remain near or approach wildlife, including birds, within ANY distance that disturbs or displaces the animal.
Click to expand...
(Emphasis original)
 
If he's getting that close, there is a good chance that the bears are already used to people. There are bears all over Alaska that have no fear of humans due to close interaction with them. Even way out in the middle of nowhere, there are lakes that are reached by floatplane and fished often, so the local wildlife acts much differently.

People do all kinds of stupid things, and some get away with it, some don't. I guess if he was with me, and did that, I wouldn't take him with me again, nor would I have much respect for him if he was seeking out that kind of interaction. If he was parked somewhere, and a bear eating trash came right up to his car, I could care less.
 
http://www.nps.gov/dena/planyourvisit/photography.htm

I think they need an editor for this page, but here's the info.

I am guilty of getting to close. This is a bear I saw on the side of the road in Alaska in 2003. It was on the other side of a barbed wire fence and I pulled the car over, jumped out and grabbed my camera (Canon 1D w/ 200/1.8 with 2x converter) turned around to see the car rolling away towards the bear. I had left it in gear! I'm chasing the car and dive in the drivers side door and stop the car, toss it into park and jump out and focus on the bear. This is what I see.

Grizzly.jpg


I took about 5 frames and left. The bear just looked at me like I was an idiot(totally correct) and kept eating.
 
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With you being a moderator, I totally agree with Vector's unsolicited advice. People just don't get it and a bad example is just what it is. Young people today sure do not know any better and if they read something online, they will emulate it.
 
hey i dont have a camera anymore. Can you grab his camera for me when he gets eaten by the grizzly ....? ;):D
 
Thank you all.

To be clear, I don't think he's doing much photography in Denali. I saw that law vaguely mentioned on the website about Denali, and I was wondering whether the same law applied to where he does shoot. I think he gets around, but mostly Katmai.

With sad irony, he actually seeks out and goes to some of the exact same spots that were Timothy Treadwell's favorites.



Vector, don't worry – I'll handle it appropriately. I just want to find the ammunition for maximum effect and minimum unnecessary offense, before I wade into this.

Thanks, again.
 
Evolute said:
Thank you all.

....
Vector, don't worry – I'll handle it appropriately. I just want to find the ammunition for maximum effect and minimum unnecessary offense, before I wade into this.

Thanks, again.
Click to expand...

i figured you would do the best thing, i just wanted to encourage you, brother.

good luck with that guy.

vec
 
Wow -- what an idiot. Hope you're able to get through to him -- or at least to those who might otherwise listen to him.
 
Bro Bear will straighten him out eventually if he keeps it up. Too many natural laws apply here. I would just hate to see him take someone else down that road.
 
I can't believe I'm helping with this nonsense, but the appropriate federal regulations are in 36 C.F.R. Subpart 13. However, this subpart only applies to Alaska, and only contains regulations applicable to specific areas. The areas where approaching bears is prohibited are:

Section 550: Alagnak Wild River
Section 604: Aniakchak National Monument and Preserve
Section 920: Denali National Park and Preserve
Section 1206: Katmai National Park and Preserve

If he's not taking pictures in one of those areas, what he's doing doesn't appear to be illegal.



Aside from that, you could try politely expressing your disapproval and moving on. Unless he's broken one of your forum rules (I can't imagine what that would be) or he's breaking a law (albeit an incredibly inane and well hidden one), you've got no leg on which to stand -- on other than you don't like what he's doing, and since you're the moderator, you get to do whatever you want arbitrarily. Like you said, you're looking for "ammunition" -- which means you've already made your decision, and you're just looking for help to make it make sense.

There will always be silly people that do silly things. It's not your job to protect the world from them. Just my $.02.
 
Advise him it helps to have a few PBJ's in his pack to keep them at bay and calm.
Natural Selection.
 
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