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    Yellowstone Grizzly Bear

All Images Below Are Thumbnails: Click On Image If You Want A Larger View

I have been lucky enough to see quite a few wild grizzly bears (60 or so) and have photographed 9 of them.  I think about many of the   grizzlies I have seen.   What were they doing when I saw them?  What are they doing now?  Photographs help keep those special moments fresh, but one should never disturb a grizzly bear or any wildlife for the sake of a photograph.  If I am lucky enough to see a grizzly bear from any distance that is reward enough.

Here are a few of the images of Yellowstone grizzlies kindly provided by Carl Core

Images Copyrighted © by RavenImages

These first two images  represent what grizzly bear recovery in the lower forty-eight is all about--cubs surviving to be reproductive adults.  According to Carl, the cubs pictured here did not survive. Grizzly cubs are born in the winter den around the first of February.  They emerge with their mother in spring and spend their first couple of years with her.  The mother grizzly will teach the cubs many of the lessons they need to make it own their own--what foods to eat, how to find a den, and-- hopefully--how to avoid trouble.  However, in their third year they will have to find a home range of their own.  A grizzly's home range is a rather large area (larger for males than females) where they can find the necessary foods, den sites, security,  and eventually mates so they can contribute to reproduction of the species.  So much grizzly bear habitat in the lower forty-eight states has been lost that finding a home range for a subabult grizzly is not always an easy task.  Many young bears never reach reproductive age--about age five.

The two images below cause me to think of the secretive nature of many wild grizzlies--possibly, a survival instinct. Grizzlies require the cover and security of the forest. The cover of darkness is also an ally of the Great Bear, as is the snow that comes each year and sends grizzlies to a sleep of several months in the security of their   winter dens.

Here are Carl's thoughts about what the last image means to him:

"The other photo feels to me rather sad, and it gives me the cold feeling that would come with the disappearance of the great bears.  It is dusk, and the bear is holding its head low.   It is heading out of the frame into the impending dark, its color to blend and disappear into the backdrop.  I don't know if this is what you feel when you see it, but because of this for me, I think it's one of the best images I have of a grizzly.   This is why I wanted you to have it.  This picture represents my fear for what may happen to the grizzly, and the sadness I feel at their treatment in this age of the human.

This image is also very reflective of my experience with the big male bears and their "phantom" quality.  In fact, I call this bear, Phantom. He's a large male that I usually only see right before sunrise, or just before dark.  Just before I took this I saw him sling a heavy elk carcass out of a stream bed.  He grabbed it with his teeth and then effortlessly swung his head and threw the entire carcass up and over a 3 ft. embankment.  The power of it took my breath away. 

Of course in a less serious light, the photo can depict the bears' departure for the sleep of winter."

More of Carl's work can be found at RavenImages

 Katmai National Park Grizzlies

In 1996 I traveled to Alaska to see the grizzlies at Brooks Falls in Katmai National Park.  It was a relatively slow time at the falls, in between the big sockeye runs.  More than 20 grizzlies have gathered at one time at Brooks during peak runs.  The number of grizzlies counted together at McNeil River is about 80.  I expected to see grizzly bears, and I did.  I arrived at the viewing platform with great anticipation.  There was one grizzly fishing at the falls--I call him Gumbo Grizzly.  He was a somewhat curious-looking grizzly bear, certainly not the most handsome grizzly I have seen, but he was a good fisher.  He caught a few salmon and always took them out of sight to consume them--possibly because his catch had been stolen in the past.  Although there were no other grizzlies in sight, he wanted to make sure his efforts were not for naught.  The viewing platform was packed, 3-deep--a bit of a zoo-like atmosphere. 

Gumbo Grizzly

(I didn't want to call him Anteater)

After Gumbo departed, I took a short hike to Brooks Lake.  Later, I returned to the falls and an almost empty platform.   There were 2 grizzlies fishing--Diver and the Katmai Kid.  The Kid was terribly nervous.  He spent most of his time running from place to place and never caught a fish.  Diver is a very large grizzly bear, probably the dominant grizzly at Brooks Falls.  He was rather laid back and caught a fish when he wanted one, usually by diving under water and coming up with the prize.  He did not go far to eat. 

Diver

                  The Katmai Kid                  

After The Kid left, a "Handsome" grizzly came and set up camp at the top of the falls.  He kept opening and closing his mouth in a yawning fashion.  At first I thought it was a sign of stress in the presence of the massive Diver.  After a fish jumped in his mouth, I decided he was watching the salmon below and anticipating their leap.  Eventually a fish jumped right in, and he consumed it on the spot.  Well, I guess Diver wanted to let the youngster know who was boss.  Diver slowly made his way toward the top of the falls.   Handsome slowly retreated into the woods.  He had made the catch-of-the-day.   Diver made sure he also got the lesson-of-the-day.

CHILKAT GRIZZLY

While looking for bald eagles in the Alaska-Chilkat National Bald Eagle Preserve, the Chilkat Grizzly came out of the bushes 100 yards away and started walking straight toward me.  I began taking photographs, and he kept coming.  I was downwind, and he did not have a clue I was there.   Since I was next to my vehicle with the door open, I did not feel threatened   When he got to within about 50 yards, I thought that was close enough--I waved my hands above my head and yelled "Hey Bear!"  I thought he might stand to get a better look, and he did.  I wanted to get that special photograph of a grizzly bear standing, but the camera kept going "beep-beep-beep."  It was having a hard time focusing due to my inability to steady myself.  I got a lousy picture, the Chilkat Grizzly went back the way he had come, and I left--feeling real good for having unexpectedly seen such a beautiful animal.  Later, I felt bad for disturbing him.   Photographs are not the most important thing.  

Chilkat Grizzly

YELLOWSTONE GRIZZLY BEAR

My wife and I watched this beautiful grizzly bear digging pocket gophers for two hours in Yellowstone National Park.

GLACIER GRIZZLY BEAR FAMILY

This grizzly bear family was using Going to the Sun Road in Glacier National Park, a very dangerous place to be.

e-mail: fcoise49@hotmail.com