Images of nonhuman animals have been part of the visual identity of Banff and Jasper National Parks for decades, and certain animal species have come to be synonymous with the wilderness experience of the region. However, as recent studies have indicated, populations of animals we tend to associate with Canada’s Rocky Mountain Parks have, in fact, been a little less “natural” than current tourist promotions would have us believe […]

“Is there a difference,” the brochure asks, “between a wild bear and one in a zoo? We can only guess what the bear might think. But from our perspective, isn’t the very thing that makes wild animals so attractive to us the fact that they are indeed wild? Unfortunately, when animals become used to being around people, they are in danger of losing that very thing that makes them special, their wildness” (Parks Canada 10). This sense of “wildness” leads readers of this pamphlet to believe that their experiences in the Canadian Rockies will be more authentic than their encounters with animals at a zoo or a theme park.

~ Keri Cronin, Mosaic