Stay in your car, Mt. Lorne resident says to people taking pictures of bears

A Mt.Lorne resident is tired of seeing people behavingbadly around bears on the highway near her neighbourhood.

Bears haven't hibernated yet, and Anne Crawford says she continues to see people getting out of their cars to take photos of bears along the South Klondike Highway, where it's not unusual for them to be seen feeding.

The most recent occurrence happened between the Annie Lake road and the Robinson subdivision. Crawfordsaid she came across a man outside of his vehicle taking a picture of a bear on the opposite side of the road. She said the bear was approaching the man as she drove up.

"The man was panicked and getting back into his car and I came between the bear and the man," she explained.

Crawford said she was upsetthe man would take that risk both for his sake and the bear's.

"They're [bears] in the ditches because they're getting food. They're not there for the viewing pleasure of passerbyers."

Crawford thinks people don't realize how many others before themhave stopped to take photos of that same bear earlier that day or week. She worries that if bears get too comfortable around humans, they may become bolder around her neighbourhood.

On its "Safe roadside bear viewing" web page, the Yukon Government asks people to consider not stopping when they see a bear along the road. For people who do decide to pull over when it's safe to do so, it advises people to stay in their vehicle, remain a respectful distance away from the bear, and never to feed it.