This unnerving photo reminds us why we shouldn’t feed bears

When photojournalist Jasper Doest arrived in the Transylvanian Alps to document the coexistence of humans and wildlife for National Geographic‘s November issue, he planned on shooting in the thick of the Southern Carpathian woods.

“It’s a beautiful mountain landscape with dense forests—a very wild place,” says Doest.

Instead, he found a story on the side of the road—and got up close and personal with a group of bears begging for food.

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His close encounter led to some incredible photographs. But it also underscores the significant hurdles that conservationists in Romania and elsewhere face in their efforts to restore and protect wild places.

Why you don’t feed the bears

Doest changed his approach to the assignment after meeting a tourist who told him she’d been feeding bears on the roadside in the conservation area.

“She started showing us pictures,” says Doest. “They were amazing. We realized this would be a great starting point for discussing the acceptance of conservation efforts within a community.”

Tourists enchanted by the region’s charismatic brown bears can give into the temptation to feed them—with disastrous effects.

Usually shy around people, it takes just a few meals to get bears hooked on human food—and, after that, they don’t stay wild long. Instead, they can become dependent on humans for sustenance, fueling more bear-human run-ins and putting bears in the crosshairs when they get too close.

In 2023, there were 95 bear incidents in the region, and a hiker was fatally mauled this summer, prompting officials to raise the country’s annual kill quota from 220 to 481 bears. Doest also documented a mauled mother bear whose leg had been lost to a traffic accident or a trap.

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“The only way she can raise her cubs is by begging for food along that road,” he says—a reality that puts the mama and her cubs in danger. “Bears fed by humans become problem bears,” says Doest.

This can have unintended consequences for conservation, fueling resistance to rewilding initiatives like the one undertaken by organizations like Foundation Conservation Carpathia. “It makes a lot of sense that the community does not welcome forest conservation, because more forest means more bears,” Doest says.

Getting the shot

The delicate dance between humans and bears intrigued Doest—and soon the issue got much closer than he anticipated. While driving on a mountain pass, Doest and his assistant realized the bears hanging around on the roadside were waiting for human handouts. “It was the saddest thing,” he says. “It made us realize they had completely changed their behavior.”

The photographer stopped to observe the bears—but when Doest rolled down his window, a large brown bear headed directly for the vehicle and made his move, anticipating a tasty treat.

“This is the shot,” thought Doest. He mashed his finger on the shutter, snagging six shots—five blurry, one clear—before zooming to safety.

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The adrenaline didn’t kick in until later, when the photographer realized just how close he’d been to the animal and its potential dangers—even as he had snagged a shot that perfectly illustrated the region’s conflicts between humans and bears.

In the days that followed Doest saw other examples of how tourists’ handouts had changed the delicate ecosystem they were visiting. As he watched people feeding bears snacks like doughnuts, he realized the story of conservation in the region was as much about people as wildlife.

“It isn’t just about rewilding—it’s about the opportunities and struggles rewilding brings us,” he says. “It’s about how to accept nature in our lives, and how we could benefit if we do it the right way.” So don’t feed the bears, says Doest—you could save an animal’s life, and a community’s commitment to wildlife conservation, along the way.