Don’t Feed The Bears

/ Post by Katie Billing of Polar Bears International

According to the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge’s Polar Bear Viewing Information, attempting to feed polar bears is considered illegal. This basis comes from the Marine Mammal Protection Act, which outlines that; the harassment of marine mammals can result in penalty by law. The Arctic National Wildlife Refuge divides harassment into two categories. The first category describes the potential to injure wildlife. This includes any act of pursuit, torment, or annoyance of marine mammals. The second category describes the potential to disturb marine mammals, which include disrupting natural behavior. Feeding polar bears falls under the category of disruption of natural behaviors.  Other disruptions of bear natural behavior patterns include sheltering, breeding, and nursing polar bears.

Whenever you go on an expedition to see wild animals, make sure that you are aware of the laws regarding the treatment of those animals. Sometimes we see people on TV who break these laws by playing with wild animals or attempting to feed them. We must keep in mind that these behaviors are not beneficial to the wildlife. It seems that humans have this urge to pet, feed, and cuddle with wild animals but we have to take a step back and look at this from a scientific perspective. Wild animals are wild for a reason and we need to respect and admire them in their natural surroundings.