My first encounter with a wild bear was an unforgettable experience. Watching this beautiful mother bear pause for a brief moment of rest before resuming her nonstop role of caring for her little cub was truly heartwarming.

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I must admit that seeing bears in Romania was a difficult experience for me. Watching people throw food at the bears, sometimes even plastic, and occasionally frighten them was heartbreaking. I was moved to tears that day, feeling both anger and sadness—angry at the lack of respect for wildlife, the harm being done to the environment and the wrongness of feeding wild bears. Every photo I took that day was taken only after the people had left, and the bears were no longer interacting with humans.