Nothing grand here in terms of "photography", but a sight both fun and gratifying for me!
A little after 10 yesterday morning I happened to glance out the window and I saw my cat on the the deck, straining his chubby little head between the slats. Typically, he isn't so overtly interested in birds, squirrels, or even deer. I followed his gaze and saw a fat bear in a nearby field. I grabbed my camera, called to my girlfriend and crept out onto the deck.
The bear was around 50 ft away. She had a metal tag in each ear. The clouds quickly ran across the sun, so it was alternating gray or sunny second by second. She didn't seem to like the clatter of the camera's shutter much. My girlfriend, watching from a window, repeatedly yelled to me to bring the cat inside. He didn't want to leave at all and struggled when I picked him up. After a minute the neighbors' little rat-dog ran over to their fence and started it's high-pitched yipping. The bear casually strolled across the field toward the woods.
.
We were able to watch her for 5 minutes before she disappeared into the woods. She seemed relaxed and displayed no aggression, just a little irritation with the loud shutter. She woofed softly at me once. My girlfriend - who was (and in many ways still is) a city girl - was pretty nervous and wanted me to come inside, whereas I wanted to go downstairs and out the back door to take more pics.
All of the attached photos were from a distance of about 50-90 ft. They are either uncropped or slightly cropped. We usually see bear a couple times a year, but seldom this close, and not usually when the weather is good.
Ursala is a beautiful creature.
Black bears are nearly always non-aggressive towards humans unless baited or provoked - or really, really hungry!
Post #1 by luftfluss
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