Hey Durwood,

Awesome sho! How close were you, and was momma around?

Cheers
James

Post deleted by James Morrissey

That shot has the most wonderful expression to it!!! Love it!

Jim,
We were pretty close, but were not actually on shore, as we did most of our shooting from a Zodiac boat on the river. The mother had walked out of the woods, saw us and lay down to nap close by and let her cubs explore the new world.

The female was the matriarch of the area and our guide had "known" her for nearly thirty years.

So this was some sort of sanctuary?

James

The Khutzeymateen inlet is a protected area and part of the "Great Bear Rainforest". It is a completely wild environment with the only visible boundary being a set of buoys in the river announcing the restricted status. Access to the upper parts of the river/inlet are closed to general tours and accessible only by contracting with one of the 2 licensed guides. These 2 guides have held exclusive licenses for the last thirty years.

No hunting, commercial logging, mining or hydro-electric power generation is permitted (for now) in the sanctuary.

Nice capture!!

Connie