When innocent bears are threatened, I take offense...
You know, I don't support illegal drug use or production in any form. Drugs really do hurt a lot of people and their families in ways others might not expect. Now, I have a whole new reason to hate drugs.
Canadian police found black bears guarding a marijuana crop:
http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20100818/od_uk_nm/oukoe_uk_bears
(just in case you wanted to read the article).
These bears had been fed dog food, so they would start hanging around the pot farm and generally serve to intimidate unwanted people away. While the place was being raided and evidence was seized, the bears all just hung around and watched the proceedings. Granted, they were probably hoping that they'd get a meal, but they were all, according to officers, quite calm and generally well-behaved.
However, because these people had fed them, the bears are acclimated to humans. Right at the end of the article, it says that the bears will probably have to be put down. That just breaks my heart.
Bears can be very deadly predators, but for the most part, all they really want is a quick, easy meal that requires as little effort to procure as possible. These bears stumbled on the most awesome free lunch deal ever, except, now, they're going to be the ones who have to pay the price because of stupid humans.
If I could run the world, they'd be able to rehabilitate those bears into "drug sniffing bears", since they probably already equate the smell of marijuana with getting food. Just station the bears in airports across Canada, and, if someone tries to smuggle some pot past them, the bears would give chase, because they're hoping to get a treat. I can't imagine many drug smugglers who'd be willing to face down a bear who's curious, much less one who's hungry. If the bear's sense of smell proves accurate, once the smuggler is searched, then the bear gets food.
Of course, if I ran the world, there would be a lot of things that would happen very very differently.
Canadian police found black bears guarding a marijuana crop:
http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20100818/od_uk_nm/oukoe_uk_bears
(just in case you wanted to read the article).
These bears had been fed dog food, so they would start hanging around the pot farm and generally serve to intimidate unwanted people away. While the place was being raided and evidence was seized, the bears all just hung around and watched the proceedings. Granted, they were probably hoping that they'd get a meal, but they were all, according to officers, quite calm and generally well-behaved.
However, because these people had fed them, the bears are acclimated to humans. Right at the end of the article, it says that the bears will probably have to be put down. That just breaks my heart.
Bears can be very deadly predators, but for the most part, all they really want is a quick, easy meal that requires as little effort to procure as possible. These bears stumbled on the most awesome free lunch deal ever, except, now, they're going to be the ones who have to pay the price because of stupid humans.
If I could run the world, they'd be able to rehabilitate those bears into "drug sniffing bears", since they probably already equate the smell of marijuana with getting food. Just station the bears in airports across Canada, and, if someone tries to smuggle some pot past them, the bears would give chase, because they're hoping to get a treat. I can't imagine many drug smugglers who'd be willing to face down a bear who's curious, much less one who's hungry. If the bear's sense of smell proves accurate, once the smuggler is searched, then the bear gets food.
Of course, if I ran the world, there would be a lot of things that would happen very very differently.