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Black bear cub stands tall to keep watch

January 19, 2022 by Tony Leave a Comment

Black bear cub stands tall to keep watch
A black bear cub stands tall to find its mom in Yellowstone National Park. (© Tony’s Takes)

Black bear cubs are quite small and I am sure everything else in their world seems so big to them. Mama had her little one safely tucked in a tree but when she moved off to graze, the cub did not care for the distance between them – especially when a monstrous bison bull began to approach.

The cub worked its way through grass taller than itself, intermittently standing up to check the location of the approaching bison. It made for a cute pic with the little cub standing up among the lush, early summer grasses, trying to spot mom.

While mom wasn’t initially too concerned about the bull, she eventually decided it was best to move on and she and the cub headed off, giving the big boy plenty of room.

Brown bear points the way to the salmon

October 6, 2021 by Tony Leave a Comment

Brown bear points the way to the salmon
A brown bear in Katamai National Park & Preserve in Alaska looks for salmon in a river. (© Tony’s Takes)

Like a hunting dog will stop and point toward game, this handsome beast was doing much the same, keeping very still while watching a batch of salmon swim up the river.

We made dinner for my mom last weekend and while we were chatting, she was remarking how she still is amazed at my bear pics from our trip to Alaska a couple of years ago. I told her that I had hundreds that I took that day that no one has even seen yet. Well, here is one.

This bear was pretty much average sized of the dozens we saw that day, and a pretty decent fisherman. Not long after this image was taken, it chased across the river, nabbing itself a nice meal.

I do love how you get a nice look at its claws in this image. Yeah, those could do some damage. 😉

Mama bear stands tall, keeps watch

August 27, 2021 by Tony Leave a Comment

Mama bear stands tall, keeps watch
A female black bear stands tall in Yellowstone National Park. (© Tony’s Takes)

Last month I shared a pic of this pretty lady’s cute cub. Now, here is a look at mama herself.

Taken in Yellowstone National Park, the bears were on one side of the road. On the other, a massive bison bull was working its way down the hill. Mama bear wasn’t concerned one bit with the humans in the car but that bison, well, she was quite intent on keeping an eye on him.

It was an interesting bit of interaction between the two species. The bison drew closer, I think only because he happened to want to go that way. As he did, the sow kept her cub close and she eventually stood up, something bears do when they want to get a better look at something.

Unlike what you see in the movies, bears usually stand up only for that reason, not as a sign of aggressiveness. Having evaluated the path of the oncoming bison and its proximity, mama bear decided it was time to leave right after this image was taken. Truly a fun encounter and something few have probably ever witnessed.

Photographer’s note: While we were somewhat close to this bear, it should be noted that the encounter started a good ways from the bear. The bear then closed the distance to us in a seemingly purposeful attempt to use our vehicle as a shield against the bison. Further, this was taken with a 500mm lens and the image cropped making it seem like we were closer than we really were. We were never dangerously close nor was the bear alarmed by our presence – unlike how it reacted to the bison.  😉

Black bear goes for the buds

August 12, 2021 by Tony Leave a Comment

Black bear goes for the buds
A black bear prepares to chomp down on some flowers in Yellowstone National Park. (© Tony’s Takes)

Out for a morning stroll in Yellowstone National Park, this handsome boar was somewhat of a picky eater. Not just any grass or flower would do. Nope, he had to have the flower buds that had not yet opened.

We watched him meander through a little valley opting only for this one type of flower. Here, you see him just before he chomps on one of the tasty morsels. Taken one month ago today, this was the second of three adult black bears we saw that morning.

Decades ago, it was common for people to feed the bears and indeed, the National Park Service encouraged it. Trash dumps were a popular viewing area and the rangers even put on lectures at them while the bears sorted through the refuse.

I still remember as a kid visiting the park and a bear standing on its hind legs, looking into our old Pontiac station wagon for a handout. Thankfully, officials realized that type of interaction was bad for the bears and dangerous for the humans and put an end to those shenanigans.

Today, the bears have returned to their natural instincts and diet and while it may not be so easy to find them now, it makes the encounters far more special I think.

Mama grizzly head on

July 29, 2021 by Tony Leave a Comment

Mama grizzly head on
Felicia, a massive grizzly, pays close attention from her home in the forest. (© Tony’s Takes)

Quite the looker! This pretty lady bear took a break from grazing and babysitting her two cubs to give me a nice, head on look. As you can see, she is one big bear.

I don’t know that you can truly appreciate the size of a grizzly or brown bear until you see one in person. Naturalist George Ord gave the grizzly its classification, ursus arctos horribilis, due to its intimidating character.

Lewis and Clark studied and wrote extensively about grizzlies including relaying one story in their journals of an encounter during which Lewis was actually chased by one. Not an enviable position to be in for sure!

Black bear cubs stands tall

July 23, 2021 by Tony Leave a Comment

Black bear cubs stands tall
A black bear cub stands up in Yellowstone National Park. (© Tony’s Takes)

Check out this cutie – one to hopefully put a smile on your face as you head to the weekend!

While many people visit Yellowstone National Park and never see a bear, we usually have pretty good luck, at least with the black bears. In a span of a few hours, we spotted three adults, two had cubs (one with one, another with two).

This little one was initially hiding in a tree while its mom grazed nearby. We didn’t even know it was there until we saw it scamper down. Both mom’s and the cub’s attention soon focused on a bison bull that was working its way closer.

At different points, both stood up to get a closer look and keep watch on the big fella as he approached. It was interesting because they seemed to purposefully position themselves so that our car was between them and the bison (smart on their part!). This was pretty cool as that allowed us some fantastic views of them.

Eventually they decided it was better to depart the area but we were happy to have been able to spend a good bit of time with the pair.

Hope you all have a fantastic weekend!

“We’re bears, we don’t ride piggyback!”

July 20, 2021 by Tony Leave a Comment

“We’re bears, we don’t ride piggyback!”
A grizzly bear cub hangs onto the back of it mother in Wyoming. (© Tony’s Takes)

Mama grizzly wasn’t too interested in letting one of her two little ones go for a ride. 😉 

Mother Nature saved the best for last on my excursion to Yellowstone and the Tetons. We were on our way home when we spotted three distinct figures off in the willows and clovers. Instantly we knew what it was – and who it was.

Say hello to the infamous Felicia and one of her little ones (the second was just out of frame to the right).

Female grizzly bears can push 400 pounds and this big, pretty lady is probably somewhere near that. She was absolutely impressive and her cubs adorable.

Felicia, officially known as Grizzly 863, is estimated to be eight years old and has become a fixture in the Bridger-Teton National Forest. Her propensity to hang out in well-trafficked areas has caused consternation among wildlife officials and they recently tried to haze her to get her to move to more private environs. That clearly did not work for long.

There has been a lot of debate over how to handle her as she has never been a truly problem bear – she hasn’t threatened humans or shown any desire to intrude on human settlements. Felicia simply seems to like the area due to its abundant food supply and the fact that being in the proximity of humans helps to dissuade male bears (boars) who might threaten her cubs.

The U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service has said that more extreme measures including possible euthanasia may be taken, something I find personally abhorrent given that Felicia has thus far not presented any threat – and if she did, it would likely be the fault of stupid human behavior, not her.

Brown bear nabs a huge salmon

March 28, 2021 by Tony Leave a Comment

Going back to July 2019 for this series of images and our trip to Katmai National Park and Preserve in Alaska. The fishing was great – for the bears. 😉

The bears were very active, working hard to fatten up for the coming winter. We would stage ourselves with a school of salmon between us and the bears and more often than not, the bears would charge at the fish, coming right toward us.

It was absolutely thrilling to watch (and perhaps a bit unsettling too – haha). When one would catch a fish, any other bears nearby would take notice. In the last couple of frames, you can see a second bear behind the one that caught the fish. It soon chased the first bear, hoping to steal its catch. They ran by and disappeared in the brush so I don’t know if it was successful.

This is a series of 38 images shown in about 7 seconds, slower than what it happened in real time. In reality the whole sequence happened in about 4 seconds so that gives you a sense of how fast these massive creatures can move.

“Are you a fish?”

January 13, 2021 by Tony Leave a Comment

“Are you a fish?”
An Alaskan brown bear seems to make eye contact while fishing in Katmai National Park and Preserve. (© Tony’s Takes)

Going back to July of 2019 for this image and our trip to this most amazing place and these incredible creatures.

This bear was quite the accomplished fisherman, handily pulling fish after fish out of the river. Here, it looks for another one while still having the remnants of the previous catch on its snout.

It does indeed appear the bear is making eye contact with me / you, however it was quite focused on the school of salmon that lie between it and I (thankfully – haha).

Oh how I yearn for the day when I can return to Alaska and experience the sights, sounds and wildlife of our 49th state again.

Brown bear stays focused on the fish

November 18, 2020 by Tony Leave a Comment

Brown bear stays focused on the fish
A brown bear charges toward some salmon in Alaska. (© Tony’s Takes)

Charge! My mind has been wandering to our 49th state and my trip up there a year-and-a-half ago. It was an amazing excursion punctuated by time spent in Katmai National Park and Preserve observing these massive creatures.

Out of a couple dozen bears we saw that day, this one proved to be the one I photographed the most. It was certainly one of the larger ones and that dark, brown fur made it look somewhat menacing. However, it wasn’t a particularly great fisherman which meant we were able to watch it charge after the salmon multiple times, usually coming up empty-clawed.

Here you see it charge through the river’s waters toward a #salmon that you can see just in front of the bear. It missed its target (again) on this attempt but at least I got some nice pics. 😉

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