Snapped off an eye level frame with this little guy in the Katmai Peninsula before he got a little too close for comfort (and minimum focusing distance!)
dallvr wrote:
Terrific shot! Looks like he just wanted to check you out, doesn't look aggressive. Still, it is better to keep your distance.
Thank you! Thankfully he was curious and just wanted to check me out. However, he discovered my photo backpack and despite there never being any food there, did his best to steal it!
That’s an excellent close-up image of the bear! What was the focal length of the lens you used or how close was the bear from you> And that bear ended up with your backpack, huh? Was that empty or there was some gear left in there?
TrojanPhotog wrote:
Thank you! Thankfully he was curious and just wanted to check me out. However, he discovered my photo backpack and despite there never being any food there, did his best to steal it!
And where was the cub's mom during all this? Did you look behind you?
AGeoJO wrote:
That’s an excellent close-up image of the bear! What was the focal length of the lens you used or how close was the bear from you> And that bear ended up with your backpack, huh? Was that empty or there was some gear left in there?
Joshua
Thank you! I used a 300mm f/2.8 for this, so I think he was about 10 feet away when I snapped this. Thankfully he didn't end up actually stealing it. He first tried to scamper up and take it quickly, but my gaze and calling out to him spooked him. Then he tried to nonchalantly get closer and closer while avoiding eye contact, but we called him out again. His final attempt was army crawling up whenever my gaze would shift to his mother fishing in the river, and thankfully she collected him before he could do anything too stupid.
dallvr wrote:
And where was the cub's mom during all this? Did you look behind you?
She was fishing in the stream in front of us! Our guide said that the bears in these parts are pretty comfortable around human presence. He mentioned that the mothers like to fish around the humans because the males don't particularly care to be around us so we are sort of baby sitters for them.
Excellent shot, but your guide did you a disservice but letting the cub get this close to human while having the backback on the ground and associate "play" with human artifacts. Bears are highly intelligent and if cubs start doing this association, that cloud lead to all kinds of trouble down the line. And SOWs (momma bear) can get defensive in a hurry. While I have been within 10ft of bears in Katmai once or twice, it was due to unavoidable situation, like a sub-adult running away from a big male boar and choosing to take our path.
rw11 wrote:
Xlnt. shot
Just a word on safety around Grizzlies... Yes the mom is the first caution!
Second, a curious cub could become a playful cub very quickly, and a playful cuff to a bear is very harmful to your gear or body.
bears are curious & playful because they are smart animals - those two behaviors are the hallmark of intelligence
Third, anyone doing anything in bear country should read Steven Herrero's book: Bear Attacks: Their Causes and Avoidance
one take home is that adolescent grizzlies, like adolescent humans will aggress against others just for the hell of it, and that includes humans
thedutt wrote:
Excellent shot, but your guide did you a disservice but letting the cub get this close to human while having the backback on the ground and associate "play" with human artifacts. Bears are highly intelligent and if cubs start doing this association, that cloud lead to all kinds of trouble down the line. And SOWs (momma bear) can get defensive in a hurry. While I have been within 10ft of bears in Katmai once or twice, it was due to unavoidable situation, like a sub-adult running away from a big male boar and choosing to take our path.
Thank you! I should say that about 7-8 feet was the closest it got while we were trying to dissuade it from getting any closer by verbal means. I think we started to try preventative measures when it got within 15 feet. We were prepped with a flare should it get any closer than that but thankfully yelling and banging on buckets did the trick.
TrojanPhotog wrote:
Thank you! I should say that about 7-8 feet was the closest it got while we were trying to dissuade it from getting any closer by verbal means. I think we started to try preventative measures when it got within 15 feet. We were prepped with a flare should it get any closer than that but thankfully yelling and banging on buckets did the trick.
Glad to hear. Some of those cubs are quite ratty and push, not having been scolded by the sow adequately. FWIW, rocks in a metal pan work really well, at least at mcneil
