While in Tucson earlier this month, we visited the Fred Lawrence Whipple Observatory Visitor Center, south of Tucson in the Santa Rita Mountains. While in the visitor center, the volunteer showed us some security camera photographs of a bear cub trying to open the visitor center doors after hours. She told us as we left to keep our eyes open for the bear. Without her advice we might have driven by this:

I quickly grabbed my K10d with Tamron 28-75 Di and began shooting.

We must have watched him for 10 minutes eat the leaves on this tree.

I will admit that I never put the car in park; my foot was always twitching on the break pedal ready to hit the accelerator should he or mama (wherever she was)decided to check us out more closely! This is as close to a bear, outside a zoo, as I have been, except, for the time a bear stumbled over the guy lines of my tent in the middle of the night. (That shook the tent!) That bear was fleeing the campsite next to mine after he had awakened those campers by rummaging in their food cooler. They had of course ignored the rangers directive to store their food in the metal cabinets that were installed at each campsite!
Needless to say, seeing this bear turned out to be the highlight of the trip for my kids. If you didn't, be sure to look at the length of his claws in the 3rd photo!

[Duh_Vinci]

Nice! Thanks for a good smile! Must be some strong branches

Regards,
D

[Timbuctoo]

Ha ha ha, it's a "drop bear"!!

[Mechan1k]

Ha ha ha, it's a "drop bear"!!

That's Gold .... we have a winner.

I guess it's an Aussie joke .... for a certain Rum company commercial.

Timbuctoo I salute you (hey that rhymes).