Moose Droppings

Bear With Me

Jun 10, 2007 @ 08:58 am by Moose

I knew it had to be something big as cars, suv’s and campers were hastily parked all over the road. I pulled my car off the road so as not to face the ire of the ranger who was sure to be along momentarily. As I stepped out of my car a group of people came trotting by me out of breath and saying” It’s a young grizzly and it’s headed this way” With camera in hand I headed the direction they were running from with all my senses on full alert so as not to get myself in a bad situation. I soon spotted 30 0r so people watching a brown colored bear moving along a swampy area near the park road. Using my knowledge of how animals move I set up a ways down the road away from the crowds and anticipating about where this bear may pass. I waited only a few minutes and the bear trotted by my position giving me ample opportunity to safely photograph him with my telephoto lenses. Of course it wasn’t long before the crowd was upon me and the bear and I both moved. I found another place further down the road where it appeared the trail he was on would pass an opening to give me potentially one more chance to photograph him. Once again I was successful as the trail turned away from the road I turned and faced the throng of individuals who were chasing this bear to capture a photograph.

Although it was not a grizzly bear but a brown phase black bear I was pretty happy with being able to capture the photograph I wanted. Some of those in the crowd were amazed that I had captured such a good shoot but it was having the right equipment and being in the right spot. I much rather be in front of the critter where I can set up and wait for it to come to me rather then chase it from behind.

As I’ve seen in many other National Parks there are some folks that don’t have much sense. All of these creatures are wild and not a tame puppy or kitten to be petted. Attempting to run up on any wild animal is not smart but a big time predator like a bear is just asking for trouble. I can see why Park Rangers spend a good part of their day directing traffic around bear encounters near the roads to keep people from doing some dumb things.

We saw a lot of bears mostly black bear but we did see some grizzlies and I was able to set up and capture many on film(memory card) away from the crowds. If you have basic knowledge on how animals move predicting where they will be is fairly easy.

The grizzly sow with twin cubs was in some real thick cover not far from a visitor center and not easy to see. I observed a photographer moving away from the area and she seemed to know what she was doing. I followed her and latter found out she had been photographing this bear for a few weeks and had great knowledge of the travel routes this bear used.

This bear took her two young cubs into the Yellowstone River and although it was a great distance from where we stood I still captured the action. The cubs had a tough time against the strong current but the made it. I latter learned that these were not actually twins but it was a set of triplets with one not making it a few weeks before. In this case the water was enough of a barrier to keep folks from attempting to run up on her and the cubs. Not to far from this location is where a professional photographer surprised a sow and got his face slapped a few weeks back. He is lucky he escaped with his life.

Photographing bears especially in the National Parks is possible if you do some planning. Spring time is by far the easiest time to do this; the bears coming out of hibernation will spend a lot of their time feeding. Grass is a big food source for them and if you find a place with the real lush grass in bear country there is a good chance you’ll find a bear. Yellowstone & Grand Teton National Park requires visitors to stay a minimum of 100 yards from a bear. I’m sure other National Parks have similar rules.

Bring a camera with lenses set up that will let you photograph at those distances, anything less will just frustrate you. Swap info with others you meet often an animal observed in one area may be seen there again. Learn how animals move so you can better predict what openings they might move through giving you the best opportunity to photograph.

Finally remember your safety really depends on the decisions you make so use good judgment. Also if folks are engaging in activities that increase the risks don’t hesitate to report it to the Rangers. Heck O’le Moose was part of a crowd that got deputized after some yo-yos were attempting to walk up on a grizzly vs coyote fight in an area clearly marked as closed because of all the grizzly activity. Although the ranger was joking a bit with us one important thing he stressed was the safety of everyone in the park and not getting to close to the animals. Good advice for everyone.