Yellowstone Griz

Hey Everyone,

These are some shots of a grizzly that we encountered while we were in Yellowstone. While we have seen grizzly in the past, it was the first time that we had one who was so obviously uninterested in us and willing to hang around a bit. We found the bear where we typically have in the past - in the Lake Region (the SE corner of YSNP). This was about a mile or two down the road from the Sylvan Lake, one of my favorite places to be in the Park (even though it is so remarkably inconvenient to everything else in the Park).

The week we were out in Yellowstone was pretty much entirely spent either in rain or cloud...which is fine as it allowed for some nice soft light to photograph the guy in mid-afternoon in.

Anyway, meet Hubert (or something like that). :P

You nailed him. Enviable work. Seems like you had a successful safari out west. My wife liked your capture of the fall foilage in the fog in the autumn colors thread as well.
So when are you two moving West?

great shots james,, thinking you were a bit to close though,, DAve

Hey Dave,

Thanks both for the comments. They are appreciated. And, Marty, thanks for the praise on the fog shot. It was one of my better shots from the trip...and certainly my wife's favorite.

As to being too close...well...we were definitely at the edge of too close. We were with a ranger, and we were behind a large vehicle, so I don't feel that we were in any danger. Had the ranger not been there, and more importantly, had the vehicle not been there, yeah...I would definitely say I was too close. :P

James

I agree with dave_lines, James you were getting too close. These are dangerous animals. One of our neighbors just had a brown bear come into her back yard and killed her dog, all her chickens and her goats. It took less than 5 minutes for all this killing to happen. We now have another bear that thinks of people as a source of food and this bear will probably get killed as a result.

excellent as all ways James, my favorite is the third.
the look on his face is priceless, looks like he's getting ready to ask a silly question...something like what are all those humans doing over there and why won't they come play with me?

Good job james.

BTW, lets not derail this post, but lets here from dave and dave about what's "too close," and how they know what too close is. . .

Just curious, it seems that each person has their own definition of too close to bears. If you go by park rules it's 100 yards. If you go by what the wardens say, it depends on the day, the time, and the particular situation.

The rules are FOR the protection of the bears in as much as it for the humans. Each situation is different.

Those are great shots, James! Really nice.

Re the question of 'too close' I defer to the experts, but my intuition tells me that if one is close enough to more or less make eye contact - then that's potentially too close. Obviously it's a 'grey area' and there would naturally be exceptions and numerous extenuating circumstances.

The documentary "Grizzly Man" starkly illustrates what happens when a human (by the devastation of mental illness) loses the capacity to discern what is 'too close.'

I appreciate Tony's reminder that the animal's protection is a big part of the equation. While in Kenya and Tanzania some years back, I saw blatant disregard for this side of things.

It's a tough situation for all concerned when affluent visitors hire vehicles and driver guides for the express purpose of getting close to the wildlife. The guide knows, for example, if he can find a mother Chetah with cubs the odds of a big tip go way up! I felt myself being sucked into that mentality as well. Fortunately my guide was knowlegable and ethical. He refused to drive in a circle all the way around the Chetah and her cubs so I could shoot from many angles, explaining that to do so could endanger the cubs. Should one of them wander off in the tall grass and become lost, the mother might be unable to track the cub down, it's trail and scent having been completely obliterated in 360 degrees.

James, I don't get the impression you were too close but your post offers the opportunity for a healthy discussion of the topic. I note from the EXIF data you were shooting at 400mm with a Canon 20D. From that info we can get a sense of how far away you actually were (I'm also assuming you cropped the full image quite a bit to get the compositions above.)

Again, these are wonderful images and, in my view, totally legit. However, I'm open to being educated on the subject.

Denali National Park says 400 yds is as close as you get to bears. Seeing how bears are unpredictible and individualistic, each person has to make up his own mind about what is too close. These bears can run 35 MPH going uphill, downhill and around the hill. It is not recommended that you shoot a bear closer than 75 yards because at a full run, he can be on you and causing you great harm before he falls dead. When I photograph bears, besides my camera equipment, I also have a .375 H&H magnum rifle for self protection. I have seen bears charge for no reason. I have never shot a bear for protection, but I know at least 2 dozen people who have. The last person I personally know that shot a bear for protection spent 6 months in the hospital getting put back together. The bear did that much damage AFTER he was shot with a fatal shot, but before the bear fell dead. The bear fell dead on this person. It was an unprovoked charge from about 35 yards.

Not really saying James was too close, It just looked like it. Not sure how close James actually was when these shots were taken, saw that they were taken at 400mm and probably cropped too, I know the rule in Yellowstone is 100 yards, The speed of a grizzly is 35 mph approx. so it wouldn't take long for one to get to you even at 100 yards. I think it all depends on the situation, Are you standing right next to your car with the door open or did you walk out in the field to get closer? (Which I have seen people do) I am sure that if the Ranger felt there was any danger he would have made everyone get back in their vehicles. Love the upclose shots though, DAve

For some reason, I can't edit my previous reply to add more content.

I personally would NEVER take ANYBODY's word about bear safety, UNLESS they live in the bear's territory. There are way too many self proclaimed armchair experts that offers advise on bears and have never even seen them in the wild, or if they have, it has been a few days out of the year usually with an armed guide.

I am not a bear expert. I know a lot about the bears because I live in bear territory. Right now there is bear scat in my backyard. A lot of "bear experts" gets killed. I am still alive. I follow my rules on bear safety and they are the same rules that Alaska Fish & Game recommends people follow (except I don't wear bear bells). The most dangerous bear is a bear habituated towards humans and most bear charges are in the areas where "tourists" visit. Bear charges are not heard of in our remote areas. I live on the Kenai Peninsula (look at a map of Alaska and find the Kenai Peninsula just south of Anchorage.) The Kenai Peninsula is not considered remote, but we are the size of West Virginia with a population of 49,000. We have in Alaska, wildlife refuges that are 270 air miles from the nearest town. We have parks that are larger than New York State. We have a State Park that is larger than the Adirondacks and it is located INSIDE Anchorage City Limits. What all this means is no matter where you are in Alaska, you are in bear country. To live here is to learn about bears and how to deal with them.

Thanks for all of your thoughts. I'm far from any kind of "expert" but I do spend a good deal of time around grizzly and black bears, and bear biologists. I follow my own recommendations.

The bear recommendations I make (its the most asked photography related question I get in Glacier Park) are first and foremost, dont go out looking for grizzly bears in the bush, bears are where you find them, they are always around - no such thing as a bear safe trail, dont look them in the eye (well, exept through a lens under "safe" conditions), never approach one, and dont scare them, if you encounter one on the trail dont panic, stay calm talk soft but firm and leave the area.

I dont agree when people see photos of bears and then say the shooter was too close. they dont know what was used to capture the shot, and they dont know the situation the shooter was in when he/she captured the image (Treadwel was different, you could tell that a pile of his shots were taken with a 50mm).

Have some idea about bears, stick to some guidelines and do your best to maintain a safe distance so as to no harm the bear or put the bear in a situation that it could be harmed.

Hey Everyone,

I am glad that we have been discussing this. I think that the issue of safety is quite legitimate...not only for myself and Chanthee, but the other critter involved.

Looking back at the situation, I will not disagree that I was definitely on 'the edge.' Given the situation that I was sitting with a ranger, who had bear spray and a taser, and given the cover that we had, I did not feel like I was in any danger at the moment. However, I think we can all agree that you never want to be in the situation when you have to rely on any of these as they are hardly 100% reliable in terms of protection.

I also think that the bear felt that I was no threat at any given time, and was generally not at all interested in any of us. I was there watching the guy for about 2 hours in mid-afternoon sun. He was quite content eating grubs and plant life. However, I think that there is no question that had I been alone that I would have handled the situation differently. Also, had it been earlier in the season, or had it been a sow with cubs, I would have been even more cautious. I don't want to be taken out of the poor guy's belly in a garbage bag (for those of you who did not see Grizzly Man, it is a worth while rental).

I think that if you can fill the frame at 400mm, even with the 1.6 crop, you are definitely cutting it close...and if you are by yourself, it is definitely too close. Yellowstone rules indicate 100 yards for carnivores...and I think that this number should be used with discretion. It is not 'all or nothing.' There has to be good judgment exercised in any event. There are many times when I think 100 yards is no where near enough.

I think that I was a tad closer than this - but not by too much. As folks have guessed, these images are all cropped - though some of them are more so than others.

-James

Absolutely a fantastic shot James. Although it is a bit risky to get that close to such an animal, there are times when we're out hiking and in an instant it just happens. I don't do much photography in bear country when I'm alone, but over the years my wife and I have stumbled upon some incredible animals that most would feel to close. We stay calmn and get the shot. Exellent James.

My 2 cents are Nice job I enjoyed them!!!!

Great shot!

I've hunted/fishing/photo in grizzly/brown bear areas and the only time I felt unnerved was on a trip to Brooks Falls last summer. Ended up being "followed" by a big ol bear through the woods. We were on a trail and this guy was coming our way from the other direction. As instructed we stepped off the trail some distance to let him pass. Well..instead of going by he decided to come into the woods and follow us for a bit. Going cross country through the woods with a bear in tow will make the hair on your neck stand up. I would have loved to have a few hundred yards between us and that bear.....

Hey Andrew,

That is pretty freaky and at the same time, a bit of a perspective builder. How long do you think he followed you for? How many were there in your party?

James

There were two of us. At first when we stepped off the main trail and he decided to come our way, it was no big deal. There are a ton of "bear trails" off the main trails going to the viewing platforms. But as we started to make a few turns off trail to try and get out of his way, he followed. Thats when it got a little unnerving. Probably followed us for 75yrds or so. Seemed like 2 miles. He then lost interest, stopped and watched us go on our way. Gave us another story from the trip.

The bears at Brooks being acclimated to seeing people all over definitely act different. They really don't care about you and expect you to move out of the way. They know the game plan. The bears we encountered while fishing really wanted nothing to do with us other then a few instances when they became interested in the fish that were being reeled in.

" But as we started to make a few turns off trail to try and get out of his way, he followed. Thats when it got a little unnerving. Probably followed us for 75yrds or so."

Yeah...that could be a bit unnerving. I am curious about what precautions most folks here use when shooting in the back country areas.

James