Canadians are known for being particularly nice, but one thing they treat with grave seriousness is nature preservation.
A little over a year ago, MTV star Kelsey Owens — known for her role on the reality show "Siesta Key" — vacationed with several friends at Banff Springs, near the world-famous Banff National Park in Alberta.
She later posted a typical carousel of pictures on Instagram documenting the trip. These pictures have since been deleted — likely because one photo in particular went viral, arousing near-universal anger and disappointment.
The picture — in any other context, a stunning look at Banff's gorgeous woods — features the acronym "MKB," reportedly the name of Owens' travel and photography company, carved into a fence post. This, of course, is vandalism of natural property, which is subject to prosecution in Canada.
Though quickly deleted, the post popped up on numerous message boards. The top-rated comment on the Banff subreddit post reads: "Sounds like a nice time for Parks to drop their big boy fine!" Commenters on the Siesta Key show's subreddit more or less agreed.
Both posts encouraged readers to report Owens and her friends to the proper Canadian authorities. However, Parks Canada and Banff National Park later conducted an investigation they called "inconclusive," and "no further actions" against the party would occur, according to Town and Country Today.
"I don't understand how people can do this," another Reddit commenter said. "Banff and so many other places are naturally stunning and need to be preserved; why would someone try to ruin that. Who wants to see your damn initials anyway? No one. What an idiot."
Owens isn't the first person to face criticism online for defacing our natural world or harming wild habitats. As social media and influencer culture has exploded in the last decade, so have travelers looking to make their mark, so to speak.
Similar incidents of vandalism have been reported across the United States and the world, from Joshua Tree to Arches National Park to Ash Cave State Park in Ohio. When these incidents can extend into interactions with wild animals, they can even result in euthanasia on the animal if it gets provoked into attacking.
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Definitely 👍 Thankfully, vigilant nature lovers have consistently held their bad-behaving counterparts accountable. One man who sprayed graffiti on a boulder in Joshua Tree was eventually fined because concerned citizens were able to match his social media posts with Google satellite feeds, for example.
The message here? Listen to Cassandra Smyth, a spokesperson for Banff National Park, and her remarks following the Owens incident.
"When visiting the national park, it's essential to remember: your actions matter," Smyth said, per Town and Country Today. "Leave it wild."
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