[bertwert]

Sorry, even more bears - maybe I need to make my own 'Black Bear Thread'...

First guy on my walk was pretty close:


I asked him to pose standing for a shot, but he was quite rude and just sprinted away:


There was also the mother with her cubs:

[normhead]

You got a BiF.... Bear in Flight

[MossyRocks]

There was also the mother with her cubs:

This was probably the most dangerous shot you have but given where you are I'm sure you are bear aware. It looks like she didn't scent or see you as the cub isn't being sent up a tree.

[bertwert]

This was probably the most dangerous shot you have but given where you are I'm sure you are bear aware. It looks like she didn't scent or see you as the cub isn't being sent up a tree.

In this shot here, I was downwind of them - I was also against a backdrop of trees, hard to see. And yes, I do take proper precautions...

As far as most dangerous shot... this one I posted here last week is more qualifying of that title, I think...

[Canada_Rockies]

In this shot here, I was downwind of them - I was also against a backdrop of trees, hard to see. And yes, I do take proper precautions...

As far as most dangerous shot... this one I posted here last week is more qualifying of that title, I think...

I think momma knows you are there, but she isn't upset yet.

[bertwert]

I think momma knows you are there, but she isn't upset yet.

Exactly... they let you know pretty well when they're upset...

[Des]

Mmm, so much detail in your Flickr image...

Many thanks Luftfluss. Proximity is the key.

I was fascinated by the link to research. Given a hundred years or so, the cane toad will have a host of enemies

Unfortunately many species that prey on the toads are unlikely to adapt quickly enough. There is a lot of work going on to develop controls on cane toads (We've cracked the cane toad genome, and that could help put the brakes on its invasion) but it's a race against time.

[stihlmania]

Well I went back and reprocessed my moon shots taken at 2000mm and F/20 with the MTO 1000mm f/10 and old 2x teleconverter.

This is 329 shots with each one having the following stats:
Camera: K-3
Lens: MTO 1000mm f/10 + old Soligor M42 2x converter
Effective f/20
ISO 100
1/40s

And so you can see a full upscaled (with that many shots I figured why not try a super res shot) 100% crop from the resulting 144 MP image:

Now if I could only see a different side of the moon!!!!

[normhead]

A respectful person has nothing to fear from bears. But being respectful means paying attention, and not given them food or getting in their faces. That's apparently to much to ask from some humans.

Exactly... they let you know pretty well when they're upset...

Tess was 15 feet away from a mother and cubs once. Mother snorted and took off one way. Tess back paddled like mad. At least here in Ontario we understand, You guys are in more danger driving to the corner store than we are from bears.

3 bear deaths in the park in 80 years of record keeping. Driving to the park is a lot more dangerous , many more fatilties driving. Yet no one ever says, "you guys are in a lot of danger going to the corner store, you got too close to a car."

I'm safer out here with the bears than most of you are where you Iive. Get a grip.

If you are disrespect fully and get in abears face and don't treat them with appropriate respect, that's not a bear problem, that's a people problem.

[tduell]

Black Kite, with 'take-away' meal.
K-3 II, DFA 150-450 + 1.4x TC, handheld. See exif for shot details.

Cheers,
Terry

[bertwert]

A respectful person has nothing to fear from bears. But being respectful means paying attention, and not given them food or getting in their faces. That's apparently to much to ask from some humans.

Tess was 15 feet away from a mother and cubs once. Mother snorted and took off one way. Tess back paddled like mad. At least here in Ontario we understand, You guys are in more danger driving to the corner store than we are from bears.

3 bear deaths in the park in 80 years of record keeping. Driving to the park is a lot more dangerous , many more fatilties driving. Yet no one ever says, "you guys are in a lot of danger going to the corner store, you got too close to a car."

I'm safer out here with the bears than most of you are where you Iive. Get a grip.

If you are disrespect fully and get in abears face and don't treat them with appropriate respect, that's not a bear problem, that's a people problem.

I hope this post isn't fully directed at me... I do my best to be respectful of the wildlife around here, and disturb it as little as possible.

However, I disagree, and say that fear is a good thing, and the average person should be scared of what the bear can do to them if it so chose to. Fear of wild animals leads to the respect of wild animals too...

[WPRESTO]

VAV bears, was it on this thread or another that it was noted 1) eastern black bears generally avoid humans and can be driven off by making a lot of noise (but beware of a sow with cubs); 2) grizzlies and the slightly bigger brown bears of the west and into Alaska are dangerous = quite willing to attack humans for food, not just when provoked*; 3) polar bears are deadly, even those raised by humans from tiny cubs will happily eat a human.

*Long ago I went to a presentation by a photographer who worked in Glacier Nat'l Park. He showed one sequence of a grizzly coming down a slope, then crossing a stream and coming right at him. He said it grabbed his hand, then let go and left. The last image he showed was his mangled hand taken after the bear left and he had run some distance in the opposite direction. Many stitches.

[skierd]

The National Park service in AK says stay 25yds from Moose and other big game, and 100 yards from bears.

There have been at least 5 fatal bear attacks in Alaska since I moved here in 2012, because I know of 5 in the last 3 years. Some were sows defending cubs, some were predatory; all were “wrong place, wrong time, wrong bear” situations. I know of several more close calls and maulings.

The rules in bear country as I understand it are pretty simple: Make noise so you don’t surprise them, don’t smell like food (or cologne, soap, shampoo, etc that could be confused by a bear as food), don’t go alone if you can help it (most bear attacks happen to people who are alone), and have some sort of deterrent (bear spray or a firearm) readily available on you (not in a pack or pocket) that you are proficient with.

Edit: Black bears are just as likely to view people as prey as brown bears and grizzlies, and it basically depends on what other food is around. Of the 5 death mentioned above, 3 were black bears and two were predatory. Polar bears see everything as food...

If you podcast, check this one out:

https://www.alaskapublic.org/2019/06/07/bear-awareness-and-safety/

[Kerrowdown]

"Cause I'm a model, you know what I mean
I shake my little tush on the catwalk"

[Kerrowdown]

Of fluffy cuteness...