A fed bear is a dead bear.

That’s the message B.C.’s conservation service wants to send the public after catching Whistler tourists feeding a black bear.

The two Kamloops residents were seen tossing food out of their car to a bruin on the side of Callaghan Road. It’s unclear what the food was, but witnesses say it was white – possibly bread.

A concerned resident confronted the couple, said Const. Tim Schumacher.

“The gentleman that he spoke to was pretty confrontational and said, you know, go ahead, call the police. Call the conservation officers,” Schumacher said.

The resident did call conservation officers, but not before snapping a photo of the incident – and the vehicle’s license plate.

Schumacher found the vehicle 20 minutes later, near Whistler Village, and issued a $345 fine under the Wildlife Act for intentionally feeding dangerous wildlife.

Tourists often stop on Callaghan Road to take pictures of the bears, pulling their car right up to the side of the road where it’s feeding.

The consequence, Schumacher says, is that the bears no longer fear the vehicles – and start approaching them when they stop.

“It draws the bear in close to people and it just breeds for a disaster because someone could get mauled,” he said.

The bigger issue is when bears become habituated to human food or “handouts” from tourists. Once that food is no longer there they may begin foraging in people’s yards or break into homes to find more human food. Worse yet, the bears can starve to death because they don’t know how to hunt on their own.

Conservation officers say wild bears frequently have to be euthanized once they become habituated to human food. It’s urging people to keep their distance from the bears.

“People think that one photograph isn’t going to hurt that bear, but they don’t really care about what happens to that bear afterwards, or they don’t realize what’s going to happen to it. They’re selfish,” Schumacher said.

“We have to keep our wildlife wild and people just don’t get that. It’s unfortunate.”

The service is asking the public to report violators to the toll-free Report All Poachers and Polluters (RAPP) line at 1-877-952-7277 or #7277 on the Telus cellular network. You can also report violators online. www.env.gov.bc.ca/cos/rapp/rapp.html