Urban Eastern Public Schools should teach "Bear craft"

Greetings from the wilds of Banff AB. Aside from the natural beauty I've seen in traversing the back country of Canada's most beautiful National park, the town sites of Banff and Canmore offer many trendy amuzements for the tired traveler. This year it seems to be a pool the locals are keeping on which of the ample townsite bears will snack on the numerous urban warriors who have sought out the wilderness experience in the wild out back of the town site fringes.

What is it with Alberta's Grizzlie bears and their affinity for sleep walking Quebecois flesh. This summer's Park bear attacks have singled out townsite Quebecers who obviously have language/learning barriers. The first attack took place on a wildlife corridor that was supposed to be closed to public access clearly signed and cordoned off. The second attack ,that I winessed causing a flurry of frantic (pointless) public safety activites from Banff officialdom, was the result of some daft urban Quebeois ignoring the posted signs about area camping closuers due to an unpredictable bear frequenting the area. He woke up with bear #66 (protecting her cubs)chewing through his sleeping bag. These two join the long list of Euro-trash and urban wilderness warriors who have become bear food due to their inability to fathom simple concepts about wildlife....Darwin would be proud.

As a contrasting note of interest, I spent the previous 4 days in the wild areas of the bow river down stream from the glacier, saw lots of bear sign but was never bothered ( simple bears precautions with food and having an eye for a good camp site). The Rangers told me that the back country sightings were not too frequent this year. Soooo, what does this tell us...that perhaps the town site bears are not really wild?...that thay have lost their fear of man? That their proxcimity to garbage keeps them as semi permanent town residents? That all these factors conbined make for an unpredictable situation when they interface with the local touistas, weaned on Disney-esque concepts of wildlife?

In both cases, areas were duely signed off and warnings issued about unstable bear activity.but I suppose we just missed the small print on the bottom of the signs that said " except urban Quebecois wishing to fulfill their urban lifestyle activites in bear country".