Woman shooting photos gets too close to Yellowstone mama bear

BILLINGS - Last week in Yellowstone National Park a mother black bear and two cubs ambled down a greening hillside along the road to Tower Falls.

Instantly a line of cars and photographers swooped in creating what's known in Yellowstone as a bear jam. Before a ranger could arrive to direct traffic and keep people back, I snapped these photos with a long lens of a woman getting way too close for comfort to the mama bear and cubs. The woman finally stepped back — either after getting her shot or because she was urged to move by a few people in the gathering crowd.

No animal is more dangerous than a mother who feels its offspring may be in danger. The risk the woman took is not only illegal in Yellowstone — tourists are required to stay 100 yards from bears and wolves — but also just plain ignorant.


http://missoulian.com/news/state-and-regional/woman-shooting-photos-gets-too-close-to-yellowstone-mama-bear/article_ae83f0fa-b480-5a5b-9782-b1ab636d26d6.html