So what has happened since my last post? Well on Friday night I came across this adorable little bear as it was eating the grass at the road side. I stayed on my bike and judged the Bear's response to my presence from afar and it didn't seem to mind so I put my mtn bike down and got my gear set up. The art to wildlife photography is to avoid disturbing your subject and apart from a couple of glances the bear didn't mind me being there. In fact the bear only looked at my twice in ten minutes, the first time being when I turned up and got my camera out and the second being when a guy on a bike turned up on the other side of it and this is how I got the images below. The bear lifted its head to check us both out and then carried on eating. However. this moment was ruined when Mr numb nuts arrived family and all in his big SUV and then proceeded to get out and approach the bear with his point and shoot. God knows what goes through some peoples heads. I give bears space on the simple logic that if one decided it didn't like me and wanted to attack me their is nothing I could do to fight back. If the bear had attacked him then the next day there would be a mass bear cull and it would be ruined for everyone. Don't be selfish Mr numb nuts and if I see you again I wont keep my opinions to myself.
At a guess I would say this bear was a 2 or 3 year old and probably separated from its mother last year. This little bear was skinny but has it such an adorable face and beautiful glossy coat.
Did you know: From growing up reading so many Bear attack books I found it hard to believe Bears get a lot of their nutrients from vegetation (I always believed they lived off campers and fish). At this time of year the vegetation is fresh and therefore highly digestible because many of the nutrients are in fluid form (think lettuce). As the vegetation matures it becomes less digestible but luckily for the Bears the berry crop is just around the corner so they can exchange their greens for desert. The Bears diet over the season goes from vegetation, to berries, to salmon. Not bad going really. The local Bears wake to a smorgasbord each year because at the bottom of the mountain there is fresh vegetation for them to eat while their stomachs are still weak from hibernation and then its berry time followed by Sockeye Salmon, followed by nap time. We humans complicate life so much.
Techs: 400MM @ F5.6 // 1/320 // ISO1250 // Exp Comp -1/3
Canon 7D with 400mm F5.6L
Image © J M Douglas|Photography 2011
Techs: 400MM @ F5.6 // 1/320 // ISO1250 // Exp Comp -1/3
Canon 7D with 400mm F5.6L
Canon 7D with 400mm F5.6L
Image © J M Douglas|Photography 2011
Coming up next: A larger encounter on my first trip to Manning Park, BC
A taste of things to come...
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Nice work Jamie. If your interested in doing something with bear aware, you can contact my friend Frank Ritcey at the Kamloops office. He is the provincial bear aware coordinator and can fill you in on any opps in your area this year or next.
ReplyDeleteThanks Peter. I am happy with how my images are improving and ISO1250 seems to be the sweet spot at the moment. I contacted Frank about 2 weeks ago and he sounded enthusiastic and said he would contact the Coquitlam coordinator because there is nothing set up in the Poco area. I never heard back from either of them after Frank's first response. I am still very much interested so let him know that if you speak with him :). During the peak Bear season I can see up to 15 a night so combine that with the constant urban sprawl and town house development and you have yourself sufficient reason to increase awareness. Thanks, Jamie.
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