Moody Looks At How Hollywood Has Affected Our Perception Of Bears

DENVER (CBS4) - As CBS4's "Bear Week" coverage has continued, Critic at Large Greg Moody had a question -- how has Hollywood affected how we look at bears as well as wildlife in general?

"From Yogi Bear to Gentle Ben -- 'Kung Fu Panda' to 'Night of the Grizzly' -- Hollywood has spent generations indoctrinating us as to how to behave around bears -- almost all of it wrong," Moody said.

Watch Moody's report in the video below:

"People usually want to see the good side of things so I think it lends to people being willing to take more risks and not understanding the distances they need to keep and not understanding that they're wild animals. So I think that this probably puts us in a worse predicament," said Brian Aucone with Animal Collections at the Denver Zoo.

Take for instance the situation about 20 years ago in Anchorage, Alaska when a tourist decided it would be a good idea to jump two fences to get a better picture. That's when Binky the polar bear attacked. The tourist did escape but not without injury.

The zoo hopes to help educate visitors that the animals in captivity may look benign but are equipped to live in the wild.

"People thinking that it's okay because they see what appears to be a gentle giant, which is actually a wild animal which can be very dangerous," said Aucone.

- Greg Moody is CBS4's Critic At Large. His reports on CBS4 News are featured on the CBSDenver.com Entertainment section.

- Also, don't miss Moody's entertaining bio, his Top Spots in Denver lists, and his frequently updated Moody's Picks page.