Feeding wildlife in the national parks is against the law, but wardens are investigating a number of cases right now where people have been seen feeding deer, elk and even bears to get a good photo.
"A food conditioned bear is more likely to approach a vehicle or people looking for a food reward. The problem with this is that these bears become more aggressive, they get closer and come up to a person and there could be a conflict, the bear might attack that person looking for that food reward," said human-wildlife conflict specialist Brianna Burley.
Park wardens say they're investigating a number of these cases in the national parks.
"This is a big deal to us," said park warden Terry Willis. "It's obviously safety for the people, and safety for the bears, and those are resources we want to protect, as well as the public that visit the park."
Closer to Radium, Parks Canada has put up signs warning motorists about bears in the area.
"People need to realize when it comes to something like feeding bears on the side of the road, certainly it's illegal in a national park, but it's something that would never be recommended in any environment even outside of a national park," commented human-wildlife conflict specialist Steve Michel.
Parks Canada staff say they know visitors come hoping to see wildlife, and they say that if you're lucky enough to see an animal, to stay in the safety of your vehicle when taking a picture, and don't stop by the animal, but rather drive slowly by, and above all never feed the wildlife.
National park wardens say if you see someone feeding wildlife try to get a description of them, and their license plate number. They'd like you to report the incident as soon as possible by calling 1-888-WARDENS or email banff.wardens@pc.gc.ca.
The fine for feeding wildlife is decided by a judge, and can be a maximum of $2,000.
