EJ Theme: Animals+humans

Very nice shot!
Last we were in a similar situation having as subjects some hermines: we were in one of our national parks, we had a park guide with us, and there were 10 photographers with big lenses ready to "shot" as one of the animals appeared on the door of the hole. But we have no shots of the situation!
Very well seen.
D&L

Hmmmm! Me thinks I would be standing quite a bit further back (the coward that I am around big wildlife!). Nice capture Sandy. I was scard to death in Banff NP at Bow Lake (Grizzly country) when I was the only one out for sunrise.

Eva, notice that I am BEHIND 5 guys. They surely would have been tastier than me.

But seriously, the bears are so comfortable and non-threatened here, moms with cubs passed comfortably within 15 feet of us next to the lodges and cabins, if we were still.

Sandy

Even if the photographers aren't as close to the bear as they seem the apparent closeness works for to help image to make a statement I think. Is this a wild animal or a model? Obviously a wild animal to us but it does leave one to ponder the question. Good job.

Sally, I personally think they can be both.
Bears in this well-protected NWR are safe, healthy, and live long lives and (obviously) breed happily and produce yearly twins or triplets most of the time. They don't do this if stressed.

The bears here also provide a safe environment for humans learning about bears, safe bear interaction, models for bear photos and paintings, and income for the park, the lodge owners, and the depressed area's and state's residents.

It's win-win, to me.

Sandy .

Yours is a really "representative" photo, Sandy. It's typical for a lot of bear photo opportunities, and I really like the fact that a ranger was on hand. Maybe from familiarity, I can certainly tell that you're all well back from the bears, and in fact that the bears aren't the least bit stressed.

This level of "habituation" is within the normal relations of bears with other creatures (including humans) when they're on rich feed like salmon or spring grazing. Lots of other animals circulate in close proximity to the bears and feed on the same things. Everything has proven fine in over 20 years of this kind of viewing under close supervision and evaluation, just so long as the bears don't begin to recognize people as an easy source of food.

At the risk of "diluting" the impact of your great photo, I'm adding one of my own to illustrate the opposite circumstance. I took this shot with a 100mm lens as this sub-adult (400-450 pounds) charged an angler to steal his salmon. Even with the 100mm lens the hapless angler is just out of frame to the left. The poor bear, in his first summer without mom, isn't likely to survive long even if no one shoots him in "self defense." Because people have been so generous he has found no other way to catch his own salmon, yet any day now the anglers will quit for the year. Sad, but that's often the fate of fully habituated bears.

All the more reason I like yours!

Nice comments, Hank - thanks! nice photo, too -

At the place we stayed, one cardinal rule was, if you had a fish on (easy salmon fishing from the side of the stream) and a bear came in sight, we had to slack the line, drop the pole, and gather in a group further away. No sense tempting a bear always intersted in a splashing, hooked salmon.

In the time I was there, no bear ever tried to take a hooked salmon or approach us too close with a fish on. Probably because they were easily able to catch their own fish, and all the other food was very plentiful as well.

Sandy

Nice one Sandy. Tells an engaging story.

Congrats on the EP Sandy!!! A well deserving story telling photo.

Ken Archer

How did I miss commenting on this? Really good photo, great story and well worth another EP, my friend. Congrats!

Waaaaayyyyy too close for my comfort, but a very telling photo. You're pretty darn brave!

Sandy, this is a great photo. But the greatest is you have been behind five men, wonderful support-:)