YN-P(etting) Zoo

Gallery: Man & FaunaPosted June 18, 2012217 views8 comments

Yellowstone National Petting Zoo..the animals here must be tame..right??

Yes, that's a grizzly, and some tourons about 20 ft(!) away as it crossed the road near Yellowstone Lake and the east entrance, taken last year. It's so sad that if one of these idiots had been attacked the bear would have been the one to pay. I took this from a safe distance with my 300mm lens.

I hear the rangers are being more strict at "bear jams" this year, especially to those carrying a long lens. From what I've seen it's usually the photographer's that are obeying the rules regarding safe distances from these wild animals, while the tourons are the ones running around in a frenzy and rushing these animals with their point-and-shoots.

Nikon D300s
420mm eqivalent focal length
1/500 Sec. @ f/11
ISO 400

Comments

8 comments

Comment posted by David Schwaegler on June 18, 2012 at 10:59 AM

Great photo that tells a sad truth and mirrors what I saw in Yellowstone in May.

Registered on December 4, 2003, 232 Posts, 1652 Comments

Comment posted by Roger Kirchen on June 19, 2012 at 12:57 AM

Great photo that tells a story. Bear, elk, moose, bison, some people will always move up close and closer.

Registered on March 6, 2011, 95 Posts, 847 Comments

Comment posted by Cristina Strudthof on June 19, 2012 at 10:01 AM

Zack I can't agree with you more. I've been to Yellowstone a couple of times for photography in the last few years and typcially stay a significant distance away from any wildlife subject but the people that are there that don't appear to know or care about the rules of the park really get under my skin. In the end the animals are left to blame for human mistakes. This image is a great representation of this very problem.

Registered on January 14, 2011, 53 Posts, 363 Comments

Comment posted by Carl Battreall on June 19, 2012 at 8:37 PM

I have never been to Yellowstone. At some of the popular places here in Alaska, like Brooks Camp, the photographers are targeted by the Rangers, especially if they "look" professional. I like the image and the tight composition.

Registered on August 29, 2007, 24 Posts, 222 Comments

Comment posted by Ed Williams on June 20, 2012 at 1:28 AM

Reminds me of a situation in Banff NP, Alberta, Canada. Typical bear jam, big four wheeler just about ran down a pre-teen girl who jumped out in front of it with her little POS right after her dad jumped out with his 100-400 lens. Horns blaring kid running up the hill toward the grizzly, who fortunately was at least 200 yards off the highway. Smart bear . . . thanks for posting this and opening a discussion.

Registered on December 28, 2010, 636 Posts, 3499 Comments

Comment posted by Craig Myers on June 21, 2012 at 1:04 AM

Perfect visual commentary.

Registered on September 1, 2008, 85 Posts, 757 Comments

Comment posted by Catherine Reilly on June 23, 2012 at 10:23 PM

This is such a great image!

Seeing this in photos or in person puts me in a complete frenzy of outrage!

Let us praise great bear (and all other wildlife) for its graciousness to us supposedly superior beings. They seem to be so patient with our stupidity. And then, after all that, they pay with their lives if a human gets hurt exercising his or her ignorance. Lord have mercy! Rangers, stock up on big fat ticket books and pass 'em out. But please don't penalize pro-looking photogs, who are trying to be sensible. Please. A lot of us try very hard to respect wildlife and wild lands and humans, who aren't aware of what they are doing. How could they not be aware with all the signs posted!

OK, I gotta stop now, before I blow a gasket...

Registered on August 16, 2006, 603 Posts, 9192 Comments

Comment posted by Max Waugh on July 3, 2012 at 12:27 PM

Zack, you're right that in many cases photographers are more respectful and better about obeying the written and unwritten rules of the park. It's not always the case of course, but in general they're a fairly well-behaved group. I think that one reason the rangers drop the hammer on us sometimes is that they're more worried about the uneducated, ignorant tourist crowd (see above) that we may attract. Too many concerns about things getting out of control. It can certainly be frustrating at times.

Nice shot, btw.

Max

Registered on September 26, 2008, 428 Posts, 2329 Comments