It seems that rangers at the Banff National Park recently had to fine a group of German tourists for bothering some of the wildlife.  It seems that they were chasing and yelling at a grizzly bear and her cubs.  Let’s process that for a minute.  A grizzly bear.  And her cubs.  Grizzly bears (who have one of the best latin names ever: Ursus arctos horribilis), on average clock in around 500 pounds, standing 3 meters if (gulp) necessary.  They are usually considered by smart folks to be actually the nth degree of grumpy on Vallentyne’s Cuddly <-> Grumpy scale of wild animals, registering a solid 100, which is actually the highest value.

For contrast’s sake for those of you not familiar with Vallentyne’s Cuddly <-> Grumpy (VC-G) continuum of wild animals, we have “shaved disillusioned lynx” at VC-G 87, “over-caffeinated porcupine” at around VC-G 75, “irritated house cat” at VC-G 64, “rabid squirrel” somewhere around VC-G 28, and “tranquilized baby bunnies” being at the start of the cuddly end at VC-G 0.

What I’m trying to get across here is: grizzly bear moms with their cubs are essentially the most dangerous thing you can find in the bush in Canada.

It is amazing that the park warden was able to actually fine the tourists, instead of needing a squeegee to gather their remains.