wildlife – Page 3 – The 4b.io Nature

2014-03-132017-05-13

Yellowstone Winter 2014: Canid

Update May 2017

A few weeks ago, when I heard the death of the 12 year old Canyon Alpha female, I held hope her injuries had been natural, not due to man. My disappointment was palpable when I learned she had in fact been shot. The bullet didn’t immediately kill her. The shooter only managed to fatally wound her. She still clung to life but, after surviving 12 years in Yellowstone’s unforgiving wilds, she was euthanized due to the injuries. Nature is brutal and a comfortable death is not expected for a wild animal, but it is a shame how this iconic wolf met her demise.

As the first wild wolf I ever saw, alongside her longtime mate, the Canyon pack Alpha female held a special place in my heart.

See below for album that includes photos of the White she wolf of Canyon Pack.

Dogs of Yellowstone: Wolves and Coyotes

I had several first time wildlife encounters on this trip. At the top of that list were wolves. A wild wolf is not an easy animal to see in its natural habitat. In fact, the primary goal of last year’s winter trip to Yellowstone was for wolf photography, and I didn’t see a single wolf on that trip. It serves as a costly but useful reminder that in a wild place, the wildlife are in charge. And that you need to adjust your approach to increase the likelihood of success of finding a given animal. Fortunately, this trip was different, not only did I see wolves, I saw lots of them. A lot of that had to do with spending more time in the Lamar Valley, having a vehicle, making better connections, and weeks of research to prepare.

Not only are wolves difficult to spot, they are even more difficult to photograph. As an intelligent and alert species, they are naturally wary of humans and keep their distance. On top of that, the wolves weren’t particularly active when the light was abundant. In fact, most of my sightings were in the hour before sunrise and the hour after sunset. In other words it was usually dark out when I saw them. I was forced to shoot with my lens wide-open and push the ISO to 1600, 3200 and in some cases 6400. The rest of the trip I was rarely above ISO 100.

But the first wolf encounter is something that resonates deep inside the human animal. Before seeing them, you first hear their howls. Long, deep cries that carry over long distances. Echoing through the valleys and off the mountains in the dark and cold morning twilight. The sound is primitive and shivering to the spinal column. The cries are answered by other wolves, but its not clear where they are. You know the general direction in which the sound originated, but it is difficult to pinpoint an approximate location. All you see are trees, snow, and shadows, each which is fair game for the wolf. And then all of a sudden out of the corner of my eye, and not in a location that I expected, a gray wolf is seen bounding through deep snow across the top of a ridge with another wolf following….

The day (my second in the park) was off to an exciting start! Not only had I seen my first wolves, but the previous day was productive, yielding many usable photos of bison, elk, sheep, and coyote. Well it turns out that the highlight of Day 2 was seeing the wolves at sunrise. The weather was windy and snowy for most of the afternoon, of all the animals in Yellowstone that day, it was the wildlife that seemed to have better judgement, by staying bedded down all day. There were barely any bison to photograph. Later in the day, we became aware of an injured bull elk on a cliff overlooking Soda Butte. It was reported that wolves overnight had ripped open his left rear leg and backed him into the cliff. The mortally wounded elk managed to fight off his attackers through the night and remained on the cliff, alive, till the following afternoon. It is not clear why the wolves left their prize unattended. Likely the elk’s antlers behaved like a bayonet, and gave him the advantage in the cliff’s close quarters. But the wolves, as is often the case, appeared to have a plan and weren’t gone for good. In fact, it was like they simply “put the elk in the fridge” and would return at a less risky time, after he had bleed out.

Later in the week, we got even closer to the Canyon pack between Mammoth Hot Spring and the high bridge heading out towards Lamar. We tracked a lone gray wolf with a bloodied throat along a ridge by Blacktail Creek. It was making its way back and forth across the road. It was not clear if the blood was from feeding or its own. Afterall, it was the start of mating season and this lone wolf may have been injured by the pack’s alpha male. Lastly, on this day we were fortunate to see a pack of wolves, including two coupled alphas on the start of mating season. This pack was seen over 2 miles away, and the photo of this included here was on 1200mm focal length on a 1.3x crop body, giving 1560mm of optical reach, furthermore I cropped it by 100%, which means the equivalent zoom on this photo is approximately 3120mm. A lens of this size would be extremely difficult to handhold, as it would probably be 10 feet long and weigh up to 500 lbs. The wolves were far and it goes without saying this photo has minimal photographic merit. I just thought it was interesting to have a single photo of 7 wolves.

Coyotes are quite prevalent in Yellowstone in winter, frequently misleading visitors into thinking they have spotted a wolf. As you can see by two of these photos, some coyotes suffer severe cases of mange and have lost significant amounts of hair. This an extremely uncomfortable and possibly deadly disorder for these animals when the temperatures drop to -56F like it did during our visit there.

Here is a huge dump of the various “dog” photos from Yellowstone….

2014-02-272015-05-29

Yellowstone Winter 2014

Part 1: The Park

This winter’s trip to Yellowstone was a rewarding experience in terms of the abundance of wildlife, steamy landscapes and record breaking cold (lowest temperature was -56F)…

As the world’s first national park, a visit to Yellowstone in any season does not disappoint, but it is in the winter, when the temperatures typically drop to the lowest levels anywhere in the lower 48, that the park’s ecology and geology shine the brightest. And this trip, from an overall, top to bottom perspective, has been my most productive expedition in the last year.

In terms of my all-time favorite subjects, bears are still tops. But when I go on a bear-centric trip, it is such a demanding subject (physically and mentally), there is little room for much else…this was not the case in Yellowstone. This park does have its specialties, and I could have gone with a single focus, but, in my opinion, and at this point in my career/catalog, it is best enjoyed by thoroughly absorbing as much of the Yellowstone experience as possible.

The park, renowned for its abundant wildlife and extensive geothermal features (most extensive in the world), has at times been faulted for lacking the iconic vistas that define some of the other US national parks, such as Yosemite or Glacier. However, the ecological variety and ever-changing geothermal landscapes creates iconic scenes that may only last a moment. The trick is to be at the right spot, at the right moment to witness it.

Yellowstone is different, while it is true the famous views such as “Snake River Overlook“, “Gates of the Valley” or “Wild Goose Island” are not there, fleeting but profound images can be wrought from the Yellowstone landscape. And it is because of the fleeting nature of these scenes that make the resulting image more profound; it serves as a reminder of the Earth’s transient nature. In the words of Paul C, our snowmobile guide, the only constant in Yellowstone is change. On a geological scale, this is universally true everywhere, the earth’s surface is in constant flux. But on a human scale we rarely have the opportunity to witness this geological ballet. Yosemite Valley in California looks much the same now as it did when Ansel Adams first visited in 1916. Yellowstone on the other hand, with its massive magma chamber bubbling a scant 3 or 4 miles beneath the surface, changes noticeably on a daily basis. These types of geological changes to the earth are most apparent here than anywhere else in the world.

More so than most of the other parks, Yellowstone exercises all of the human senses. A photographer, who attempts to use imagery to communicate the Yellowstone experience is limited to the visual cues presenting. Many of the scenes contain stimuli that require a first hand encounter to understand and appreciate. Therefore, I tried my best to capture visual scenes that offer connections to your other senses…this is easier said than achieved…

What these photographs fail to capture and present to the viewer is the frigid air, the smells, the sounds, the rumbling, the vibrations, the mists, the howls, the grunts, and the silence that are uniquely available in Yellowstone, the most accessible of the snowbound American National Parks. While other of the snowy Parks have generally limited access during the winter, Yellowstone’s hundreds of miles of roads are almost fully accessible via snowmobile and snow coach while the northern section (Mammoth Terraces and Lamar Valley) is plowed and open to cars.

Next up….

YNP P2: The Wildlife

YNP P3: The People

2014-01-202015-05-29

Klamath Basin + Crater Lake + Drought

1324 miles driven over the last 48 hours made for an epic weekend warrior trip. This time, I drove north to explore what is (in my opinion) true Northern California. I left work at 15:30 on Friday and drove north for 8.5 hours (the Friday rush didn’t help my time). I didn’t leave California once during those 8+ hours. I came as close as could to leaving the state, by skirting the Oregon border for the last 30 miles, but I didn’t actually cross over. Northern California is big. For a state that seems to define LA as being southern California, and SF being northern, I wonder if the first person that made this generalization ever consulted a map…anyway, I finally reached my destination Tulelake at midnight and camped (if I dare to call sleeping in parking lot car at a wildlife overlook ‘camping’) near Lava Beds National Monument. I was up before the sun Saturday morning, and I stayed in the Tulelake area the first half of the day, before finally crossing the Oregon border and headed up to Crater Lake. I found my way back into California later that night and “camped” in the middle of the Klamath Basin wildlife refuge and waited for the sunrise to come. By mid-morning, I pointed my car south and made the long, but enjoyable drive back home, which took only a brief 7 hours in this direction and got me home in time to catch the start of the 49ers game. So the question is why would I drive so far for such a short trip? And no, I don’t even get the 3-day MLK holiday weekend. When it comes to my decision making process, it is unclear if there is logic or impulse driving it, and this trip was no different, but there were many other important compelling reasons to go on this adventure, but I will narrow it down to two:

(1) Bald Eagles

(2) Snow

(1) Bald Eagles – The Klamath Basin is considered to be the preeminent location in the lower 48 to view wintering bald eagles. They are funneled from their summer territories in Alaska and northern Canada down the Pacific Flyway to these wetlands along the California/Oregon border. Here they amass in large numbers and feed on the snow geese that are also wintering over here. Well, I don’t know what was wrong, but the results weren’t exactly “good” in terms of eagle activity. I saw about 8-10 bald eagles, but only one in flight, and none fishing or feeding. There weren’t many waterfowl there either. I don’t quite know what is going on, and plan to investigate this further to understand why, but I wouldn’t be surprised if it has something to with the lack of reason (2)…

(2) Snow – California is in the midst of a god awful drought, and it is bad for everything here. The Sierra’s don’t have any snow, which means the water supply won’t be replenished for both human and nonhuman organisms. In fact, it is so serious I don’t even want to mention how this will impact the prospects of a California ski season (or photographing Horsetail Falls in February). In the scheme of things, none of that seems particularly important. It is literally drying up and catching fire here. “Southern” California is burning up as we speak with a man-made fire. While not unusual for a state accustomed to wildfire, anyone could tell you that they typically don’t happen during the “wet season” of January. The drought’s impact was made crystal clear on this weekend’s drive. There was no snow anywhere in the Klamath Basin, it was still cold (nighttime temps around 5 F), there just wasn’t any moisture. Even Mount Shasta looked strange and uneven. The north and eastern faces appeared to have a lot of snow, but the western face, as viewed from Weed, CA was barren and brown. (I also want to investigate the exact reasons behind this too). I did eventually find snow, when I drove north two hour to Crater Lake. But the news wasn’t great there either, while there was about 3-4 feet of snow covering the rim, this is only 24% of the average snow level for this date.

The outcome of this trip was a bit different than expected (limited eagles), but overall it was far from disappointing. I finally found a top-notch wildlife viewing location in California. Natural beauty is easy to find in this state, almost anywhere you look is beautiful, but wildlife frolicking in those scenes tends to be rare. And while the eagles weren’t performing (the nerve of those wild animals!), their cousins in the hawk, harrier, and falcon clans put on a great show. Plus I saw over 10 coyotes, several flocks of snow geese in formation passing by, California pheasants, black crowned night heron, mule deer, and in the two mornings there were two stunning Mount Shasta sunrises. That, combined with the prospect of grappling eagles, pronghorn, black-tailed deer, owls, and others the Klamath Basin is a highlight of California’s natural heritage that hasn’t yet been tagged and spoiled like many of the bears in Yosemite Valley.

After visiting Crater Lake for the second time in my life, the first was summer 2004, I left the park convinced it is at its best in winter. As is the case for many other national parks, winter provides a more peaceful and beautiful natural experience. Even though the park is limited to a tiny parking at Rim Village, and the road that circumnavigates the rim in summer is closed, I felt like there is more potential here during the snowy season than in the summer. The road closures and winter weather limits the amount of visitors, allowing plenty of space for snowshoeing, cross country skiing, and winter camping, all while having a view of the lake.

And finally this weekend served a great dry run for my upcoming trip to Yellowstone in two weeks. I worked on my wildlife tracking, practiced shooting in the cold, and figured out the last bit of gear I want/need to bring with me to Wyoming.

Plus there was a town that had the same name as my mom….with an extra “r” in the spelling…

2014-01-10

Yosemite: Late November Valley Explorations

Gallery at bottom

November 22-24 was a nice weekend spent in Yosemite Valley. The previous week’s snow and high winds kept the passes closed throughout the weekend (and eventually turned out to be closed for the season). While initially disappointed by this limitation (the high country will soon be closed for the next 5-6 months), it turned out to be nice, because it forced us to focus on the valley and find suitable photographic opportunities there. Once the pass is closed for the season, I will be able to pursue new areas off the beaten trail in the valley this winter.

Friday

On Friday morning, before work, a high wind warning was issued for the central and southern Sierra Nevada, closing all Yosemite campgrounds. From the reports, this wind storm seemed serious, sustained winds of 40 MPH with gusts over 65 MPH on Valley floor and 100MPH winds along the high ridges. The original plan to stay in Camp 4 Friday night had been derailed. But instead of postponing the trip for a night, I was actually encouraged by the challenge of finding a suitable place to sleep in or near the park….We left Mountain View at about 16:30 on Friday afternoon and arrived to an entirely still and quiet Yosemite. There was barely a breeze. Nor were any of the roads debris strew. The hopes were high that the NPS would have lifted the closure. No such luck, the campgrounds would stay closed until late into the next morning.

Once we arrived in the park, we followed the loop to see if there was any wind damage, then went straight to Tunnel View for long exposure photography of the valley, under the power of the waning Gibbous moon. We shot long into the night there. Initially, I had thought about climbing the Pohono Trail at the Wawona tunnel and doing time lapse photography at Artist Point, and, should we so desire, sleep on the Old Glacier Point Stagecoach Road. But given the high wind warning (despite there being no wind), it wasn’t worth the risk to to ascend in elevation.

After completing a couple laps of the Valley Loop at about 03:00-03:30, the El Capitan Meadows proved to be the best spot for “stargazing” for the rest of the night. While walking through the meadow, looking for a spot that gave unobstructed views of both El Capitan and the Cathedral Rocks, we came upon the trunk of a massive Sugar pine resting on the meadow floor. It had fallen long ago and was half burned out. But it was massive and shielding us from the Northeasterly corner of the valley and obscured us from the road. We settled in for a couple hours of ‘rest’.

It was a nice nap there. I did some long exposure photography of the Cathedral Rocks and ever changing cloud+star combinations. It is rare to be disappointed by El Capitan when it is towering over you as you stare up at it in a sleeping bag. By now the temperature was dropping rapidly below the dew point, and the moisture was freezing on everything, I decided to burrow deep into my mummy bag and watch the stars till the arrival of morning twilight.

Saturday

The Steller’s jay doesn’t wait for sunrise to begin their squabbling. A pair of the birds made their disposition abundantly clear in the pre-dawn hours. After being jarred awake by the birds, we took in the tranquility of Yosemite Valley at 06:00. Frost was covering the grasses, tree trunk, and of course the sleeping bags.

But the bags performed their duty well, and despite the short amount of rest, having the rare opportunity to wake up, undisturbed, on the floor of one of nature’s greatest monuments is truly special. The crisp air and a frost glistened view of El Capitan were the first experiences of the morning (after the jays). I felt rejuvenated.

The goals for Saturday weren’t overly ambitious, but I was hopeful that the passes would be opened, but, again, they weren’t. We returned to Tunnel View for the early morning perspective, after seeing in washed in moonlight. Then we picked a spot and set up in Camp 4, which by late morning was officially reopened. Afterwards we went for a hike along the Merced River, looking for the last splashes of autumn colors and reflections. Came back to the campsite and relaxed for a couple hours in the mid afternoon glare. Did some wood chopping with the axe Matt gave me for my birthday. Sunset photography was going to be in one of my favorite spots, the Columbia Rock, 1000 feet up the valley wall along the Yosemite Falls trail. With 60 switchbacks, the hike is a 3 mile vertical climb that is extremely grueling, even without the excess camera gear.

The sunset was interesting, the clouds were in constant motion, draping and covering Half Dome and Clouds Rest for extended periods, but would break up for brief instances and yield dramatic views of the rock formations splashed with rich, pink light. We stayed at Columbia Rock shooting until the end of Nautical Twilight and begin the steep descent back in the dark.

After hiking back to Camp 4, we had dinner and Chad made a big fire. The last bit of photography I had in mind for this trip was to catch the moonrise over the valley wall from the “Gates of the Valley” view. The moon was scheduled to rise at about 22:00, at the horizon, but wouldn’t make it above the valley wall until well after 23:00. So I took my time and ventured out at around 22:45 to the Valley View location. crossing paths with couple coyotes in the process. I had two cameras firing from multiple positions. In fact, I took advantage of the low flowing Merced to set up out in the river. Seizing the opportunity to shoot from vantage points typically inaccessible at other times of the year when the water volume is higher. The conditions weren’t particularly easy to shoot in. Waves of fogs and mist would glide through the valley floor in irregular intervals, influencing the air temperature in the process. Before the fogs, it would be a few degree below freezing, as it rolled past the temperature would rise above freezing, only to drop again after it was gone, and leaving a coat of ice on my lenses. As the frequency of “fog waves” increases, I had to drastically decrease my exposure times to allow lens defrosting. Before the fogs, I was doing 900 s exposures, by the time I had had enough, I was down to 250s exposures.

2013-09-16

Katmai: Day One + Bear Behaviors

Near the base of the Alaska Peninsula, a national park stretches from the Bristol Bay lowlands across to the Shelikof Strait. Lightly visited and little known outside Alaska, Katmai is larger than Yellowstone and Yosemite — combined.

– John Grabowska, Katmai, 2013. Alaska Peninsula

Katmai is an extraordinary place and I cannot wait for my next trip there

The Brooks Camp area is teeming with the world’s largest land carnivores, the coastal Brown Bear. Who, despite being so large and powerful, are as laid back and relaxed as any bear I met before. Completely different from those nasty interior grizzlies. The bears here are cool. And while a bear of any size can be dangerous, the bears of Katmai tolerate the close proximity of humans and competing bears like nowhere else. Such an abundance of high calorie food does an effective job to transform this ornery beast into a creature with an amiable disposition….

Attack that human? We Katmai bears don’t care!

I am still trying to best figure out how to organize my posts on Katmai. As you can imagine, many photos were taken, and there is a lot to say about preparations, gear reviews, bear anecdotes, and things to do differently next time. Lets start with the experiences from the first day at Brooks Camp and some general observations made about the bears…and move forward from there…

Day One

Out on the Alaska Peninsula…

And so to the Alaska Peninsula we come, seeking the limits of the known world at the ends of the Earth…A cloud-cloaked landscape, the Alaska Peninsula is accessible only by air or water.

The flight from Anchorage to King Salmon took about 90 minutes on PenAir and once in King Salmon, we took a short bus ride to the Naknek River to office of Katmai Air and their dock+float plane. While at the office, we weighed our bags and learned how much over the 50 lbs limit it was. I was 80 lbs over the limit. Camera gear really starts to add up! Due the small size of the planes and their finite lift, the total load must be measured before taking off. If the load is greater than what the plane can carry, gear is jettisoned and ferried in on later planes. Fortunately I did not have this problem, I paid the $0.60/lb overage charge and was able to get all my gear on my flight. The leg to Brooks Camp is a short one, only taking about 20-25 minutes.

The view we had when we landed at Brooks Camp

After flying over soggy lowlands, lakes, and along the sides of mountains, we softly touched down in Nahnek Lake a little before 13:00. We had arrived to Brooks Camp. God rays shone down on the mountains in the distance as we disembarked on a wooden plank that lead to us shore. Before reaching the shore, we could already see our first bear, swimming at the mouth of the river. My nightmarish fear of not seeing any bears quickly subsided, the trip was off to a good start. After finishing the 10 minute ranger led safety briefing, we lugged our gear to the campground.

This campground can described as an area of tall grass and trees enclosed by a bear resistant electric fence (not “bear proof”) about 20m from the shore of Naknek Lake. The campground is a bargain, especially when compared to the cost of the lodge. Having a National Parks pass gives a 50% discount too. Three nights of camping cost only $18. With camp set up, we set off towards the river in search of bears…..

Bear Behavior and Preparation

By September the brown bears of Katmai are big, fat, and round. They are only a few weeks away from hibernation and have already put away the bulk of the calories needed to survive the Alaska winter. The salmon here are Sockeye and this location is most famous for the iconic photos of the bears at Brooks Falls catching pre-spawned Salmon mid-leap. It is possible to get these photos at the peak of the salmon run, which is usually sometime in mid-July. It is during this peak that the highest concentration of bears falls is present at the falls. There have been times when over 70 bears (!!) were counted in the river. The peak is considered the best time to visit Brooks. It is also the most crowded and expensive time to visit. The next next best time to visit is early September, when most of the salmon have already spawned and are patiently waiting to die.

During September bears are more frequently found in at the mouth and at the source of the Brooks River. By this time, the salmon have exhausted almost all of their energy traveling from the ocean to their ancestral spawning grounds. In the process of this journey, the sockeye begin a transformation from a silver colored fish to having the appearance of blood red and distorted sea monster.

One of the interesting aspects of visiting Katmai NP for the first time (and staying multiple days) is that you can visually track your improvement as a wildlife photographer. Within a few hours, you are beginning to recognize the frequently observed bears. First by appearance, whether it is Ted with his hip scar, or Otis of the far pool, with his floppy ear and head scar. After some more time, you begin to differentiate and recognize bears by their fishing techniques and mannerisms. Some snorkel head down scanning the river. Some ambush an unsuspecting salmon by sprinting and pouncing. Some bears exclusively scavenge and others steal. A few bears prefer to sit perfectly still and let the fish come to them, snatching the fish with a quick paw. Otis is known for this, and he would sit perfectly still in the rushing water for minutes. I was even able to take a sharp photo of him in the far pool with a slow shutter speed of 1/20s.

Here is an animation showing Otis devouring a salmon. Notice how he braces the fish on his shin. Click through the image below for the full version of this animation.

Animation of Otis eating a Salmon. Click through image for entire sequence and higher resolution download. Might be a bit slow, so be patient

All of these observations are important and key to improving your photography. Once you are able to recognize a bear and associate specific behaviors to it, your ability to anticipate action before it happens is improved. You begin to sense when a bear locks its radar on a fish, and can be ready to click the shutter at just the right moment. Let off the shutter after the initial catch to so buffer can be writen to memory, then burst again when the bear shakes water from its head. It was even possible to recognize the differences in behavior between a failed and successful fishing attempt, before the bear brings the fish up.

I still have much to learn before I can call myself a bear behaviorist expert, but it is amazing how careful observation increases your ability to recognize behaviors, and can drastically improve your photography.

Before leaving for Alaska, I studied as much information as I could to prepare myself. I read the bear documentation and eBooks provided by the NPS, studied maps of the Brooks Camp area and viewed the web cameras. All of these resources proved to be helpful. By reading the NPS Katmai Bear eBook, it was easier to recognize which female bears were more skittish about her cubs and how it is possible to age a bear based on the size of their head in proportion to rest of body or how playful they are. Young, or sub-adult, bears may look large, but their bulk may be excess fur. The size of the head is a good way to gauge their age. The head appears bigger in proportion to the rest of their body on subadults. So if you see a bear whose head accounts for approximately 1/3 of the total length, this is a good indicator the bear is young and still growing into its head. The guide also made it easier to react safely to approaching bears and avoid a dangerous situation. Viewing the web camera gave me an early look into bear behavior and introduced me to the weather patterns and lighting conditions that would likely be encountered.

This preliminary knowledge served a couple useful purposes. One benefit was that it helped to psych myself up for the trip. Another benefit was it gave me some ideas for image compositions. I began to formulate the type of images I would work to capture once on-site. By thinking these images out in advance, I was more in control of my gear and ready to switch from say a stop-action configuration to a panning motion.

Day One Gallery

Next Post: Cubs, close encounters, and gear review…

2013-09-132015-05-29

Wildlife Philosophy

What makes wildlife interesting? For me, there are a couple characteristics that distinguish specific species from others and make them more appealing to me to observe in their natural habitat.

Happy families are all alike; every unhappy family is unhappy in its own way.

– Anna Karenina Principle, as proposed by Jared Diamond

In Guns, Germs, and Steel, Jared Diamond speculates that all species of domesticated animal share six proposed characteristics. The combination of all six characteristics indicates that the species lends itself to being domesticated. If a species lacks one of these characteristics, it has the same likelihood as being domesticated as a species with none of the requirements. Anna Karenina.

Maybe you can see where this is heading. If you were expecting something profound, I suspect you will be disappointed. I have obviously tailored this list to a brown bear.

A species must have the following characteristics to be considered “interesting”, at least until my bear obsession passes.

Rarity – what is the prevalance of this species?
Danger Factor – can it kill, or at least seriously maim a human?
Human-ness (can we project “human emotions” on their behaviors?)
Location
Canine-ness (can we project “dog emotions” on their behaviors?)
Intelligence/ stuff it eats (food)

With that established, lets go a bit deeper. Given these characteristics, it is never wise to set expectations unreasonably high before venturing on a wildlife trip. If your hopes are set too high, you will often find yourself disappointed by what is perceived as a poor showing….this leads into my next post about Katmai National Park..

2013-09-022015-05-29

Glacier Grizzlies

In preparation for my trip to Katmai National Park this week. Here is a small gallery of photos taken on a single day from last years trip to Glacier National Park (Sept 2012). These were taken in the Many Glacier section of the park. It was crawling with bears, both grizzlies and black bears. I was shooting with Jeff Callihan. We made sure to stay upwind from where we assumed the bears were located, thereby alerting them of our presence by scent. We saw several grizzlies, including a mother and her cub.

One of the grizzlies got a bit too close for comfort, as seen in this gallery. We handled this bear calmly, carefully and respectfully. The bear had been popping in and out of the thicket for several hours, never coming within 200m of our position. We remained stationary the entire time. After sometime, the bear began to appear closer to our position. When she emerged from the thicket about 40m away, we stood up and slowly moved, side by side, away from the thicket and into the meadow to give her right of way should she desire it. Looking at us, she kept coming towards us. When she charged in our direction, we spoke firmly to her, reassuring her of our implicit human-ness. The charge was likely a curious, exploratory one. But one can never be complacent with a charging grizzly, and the simple act of showing our backs could have triggered the predator/prey instincts of this apex predator.

At the nearest, she was within 20-30 feet of us. Once the situation was defused (without needing to spray the bear), Jeff and I quickly left the area and returned to his truck with a freshly invigorated respect for these powerful animals.

The Grizzly bear is a subspecies of the Brown Bear. To be clear, a grizzly (Ursus arctos horribilis) is an interior North American Brown Bear and was so named by the “grizzled” (read: silver tipped) appearance of its coat, which can be observed in these photos. This subspecies is different from its larger and less “grizzled” cousins found in the coastal regions of Alaska, including Kodiak Island and Katmai NP, and other brown bear subspecies (Russia, Europe). Despite this, and this is where the confusion stems, the eponymous term Grizzly Bear has been applied to both the inland and coastal varieties of the brown bear. This is because the name “Grizzly Bear” is so awesome that the people near other brown bears got jealous and wanted a name more inventive than “brown bear”. While it is true that a proper inland grizzly bear is pretty awesome, other brown bears are awesome too, so they shouldn’t feel jealous of their smaller, meaner kin. The interior grizzly bears can be found in places like: Yellowstone NP in Wyoming, Glacier NP in Montana, Idaho, Washington, the parks of the Canadian Rockies, and inland Alaska (such as Denali NP). There is also an indie band named “Grizzly Bear”, but don’t let their lame and wanna-be obscure musical styling confuse you with the ferocious nature of this animal. Unless they took inspiration from a grizzly bear’s hibernation period, it would have been more appropriate for them to call themselves “Prairie Dog”.