Military Officer - April 2008 - (Page 67) Great Smoky Mountains National Park Don’t Feed the Bears or the Elk One of the most exciting aspects of national parks is the access they provide to unique natural features and wildlife. However, what sometimes draws visitors to parks also can put them at risk. “Fewer and fewer visitors to national parks have ties to rural areas and the outdoors,” says Al Nash, spokesperson for Yellowstone National Park. That means visitors often don’t know mammals like bears, bison, and elk can be dangerous or natural features like thermal springs can be deadly. Nash says the National Park Service takes safety education very seriously and advises visitors through signage, park newspapers, Web sites, and education programs presented by park rangers. In peak visitor seasons, national parks generally hire more rangers to help educate and promote visitor safety. Nash says an example is Yellowstone’s park headquarters at Mammoth Springs, which is frequented by the park’s elk. During rutting season in early fall, the elk can pose a threat to visitors, so seasonal staff always are on hand to make sure visitors keep a safe distance. PHOTO: PANORAMIC IMAGES/GETTY IMAGES But sometimes, Nash points out, visitors get excited and get too close to hot springs or large animals. Usually a warning is enough, but sometimes, Nash says, the Park Service has to issue citations. Wild creatures usually have very little interest in approaching humans unless they feel threatened, but it hasn’t always been that way. Yellowstone was once notorious for its population of aggressive, overly friendly black bears. Through visitor education and relocation of problem bears, the park now has no bears that associate humans with handouts. Bears aren’t quite so educated at the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, which has almost 2,000 black bears. Negative bear-human encounters aren’t frequent, but they do happen. The Park Service doesn’t try to restrict access to the great outdoors; that would defeat the purpose of the National Park system. But visitors should use common sense and keep their distance — and their food — from wildlife while exercising caution in dangerous natural areas like thermal springs and canyons. APRIL 2008 MILITARY OFFICER 67
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