Photographer Natalie Wannamaker says the lady disregarded her cautions of bears in the location, bringing her on-leash dog within inches of a young bear on the Valley Trail
When Whistler professional photographer Natalie Wannamaker alerted a dog walker of a black bear in her area on the Valley Trail recently, she said she was consulted with an easy guarantee: Don’t concern, I’m a regional.
“This one woman specifically, with a dog, took complete disregard to what I was telling her and starts screaming back at me that she’s a local. I yelled back I was a local, too, and that didn’t matter,” Wannamaker remembered. “She proceeded through the Valley Trail directly by these two juvenile black bears. One bear comes up face to face to the dog, and the dog was barking like crazy. The bear luckily didn’t get aggressive, but you can imagine how it could have gone differently.”
Wannamaker was near Nita Lake Lodge on the Valley Trail last Thursday, Aug. 3 when she identified the 2 young bears “doing their typical routine: eating berries, climbing trees.” An independent wildlife professional photographer, Wannamaker started recording the animals, letting passersby understand of their existence. “People had taken notice of the bears and they were being cautious as well,” she said.
That’s why Wannamaker was so shocked by the lady’s appearing neglect for the bears—and the safety of she and her dog, for that matter. Calling it a “forced bear encounter,” Wannamaker said the lady dragged her dog, on leash, within inches of the young bear.
“I can’t believe she brought her dog into the situation. Any animal lover would recognize that she not only put herself in danger, but the dog, the bear and everyone in the surrounding area as well,” she said. “It was so irresponsible I can’t even believe she did that.”
Wannamaker said she provided the lady an earful, prior to reporting the occurrence to the Conservation Officer Service (COS). The COS did not return an ask for remark by press time.
Wannamaker normally utilizes a telephoto lens, which permits her to shoot wildlife from a safe range—unlike the smartphone-toting traveler or curious regional excited to get a shot of a bear for their social networks.
“Generally, I find locals are OK, but in this circumstance, this woman was [using it as an excuse],” she said. “That’s not something I see usually. I’m sure there are more people with that demeanour—which I want to advocate against. The last thing I want to see in Whistler is someone get mauled by a bear.”
You may be acquainted with Wannamaker’s work. Last summertime, a video she published to her TikTok account (@nataliesgeo) of a curious black bear smelling around a female at a Whistler bus stop went viral, generating, at last count, almost 650,000 views. She said she utilizes her social networks as a method to not only share her work, however the appropriate rules around wildlife, too.
“I share bear safety tips with people on TikTok and people have been super receptive of the work I’ve done online,” Wannamaker included.
