Cute and comical, always makes for a fun subject to capture in art. I lived in Oregon on the coast for ten years, this is Black Bear country, and they get in trouble because of human contact. Should you be afraid of bears? That is one good question, the answer is no as long as you treat them as a wild animal.

I definitely respect bears. They are large and powerful predators; if they have not been fed by humans or become dependent on us for food, they are not dangerous. I take reasonable precautions to avoid bad encounters with bears. But I don't fear bears. I do respect them as I do all wild animals. So take pictures but do not feed bears. I will tell you a short sad story I know of personally.

I had a café in Oregon, one of my customers was telling me of how her boyfriend and she had this property up river and they were feeding the bears, she brought me beautiful pictures of these animals and their cubs right up at the house. Well her and her friend split up and she could not afford to feed them anymore and was going to sell the property and move. Well I was appalled because what happens to these beautiful creatures and will the new people that move in get hurt before the forestry comes and are forced to destroy them.

Most human-bear encounters these days involve a ready food source from a backyard bird feeder, pet dishes left out overnight, unsecured garbage cans, etc. These encounters are always the human's fault and preventable. Unfortunately, human/bear encounters these days often end badly for the bear. Have you ever heard the saying "A fed bear is a dead bear?" Sad but it’s true!

So look but don’t touch, love from afar.