Critters

So how close is too close?  I guess that depends on the critter, its actions, and your shelter or protection.  In each case of an encounter with a wild animal, these all have to be weighed.  You need to consider not only if you can safely depart, but also if your presence will harm the animal by accustoming it to people.

On the Going To The Sun Road, near the top, cars in poor condition tend to overheat.  They boil and spill antifreeze on the pavement.  This attracts some bighorn sheep and mountain goats, which have become addicted to the substance.

According to the Rangers, it does not seem to harm them, but their presence on that winding, narrow road definitely puts them at risk.

Outside the park, I was on a hike.  I sat to rest on a rock next to a waterfall.  A chipmunk emerged near my feet.  Definitely NOT too close on this encounter - unless it decided to run up my pants leg!  No, it didn't, but I WAS thinking ahead...

I saw 5 black bears in the park and one outside the park.  Even though I was on foot for my first sighting, it was not scary.  The bear, about 140 feet away, checked me out.  I checked him out.  He went back to feeding.  I took some photos, then returned to the trailhead.  Here are a few more, first one from the Canadian part of the park, feeding next to the road...

Now one from Many Glaciers, several hundred feet away in a field...

Finally, this morning I helped a Campground Host roust a young black bear that was spending too much time in and about the campground.  Our job became making the campground a scary area for the bear.  If we could do so, its visits would become less frequent, and it would be less likely to become a "problem bear" that might have to be destroyed.

Getting within 50 feet or so, yelling, throwing sticks, and so on to move it away was definitely a new experience for me.

Finally, leaving Glacier, I was driving through the Blackfoot Reservation.  Off to my right, 500 feet or so away, I saw a bear.  I pulled into a convenient turnout, grabbed the big lens and got out.  I watched this guy feed on a carcass for about 10 minutes.

It was just a bit disconcerting when he spent about 30 seconds staring back at me.

I figure that 500 feet was close enough.