Very Focused
by William Bickle
Mature Grizzly Bear in the Northern British Columbia Canada area known as
" Khutzeymateen" .... The only Grizzly Bear Sanctuary!
Early springtime after recently emerging from the long cold winter dormancy period. This mature "Big Guy" known as the King of the Valley , has a job to complete and a willing female has left some scents for him to pursue her. Bear Breeding takes place during the springtime in the Khutzeymateen with willing partners!.
The shoreline trek here is easier with the receding tide.
Missing fur from the back region seems quite common to males here, probably a passed on gene/trait from others over the years?
At this capture (2012)he was in his mid Twenties and has been seen more recently still in fairly decent condition.
I am returning to this Amazing Valley this upcoming springtime and hope to see him soon!
D700, with 200-400mm VR F4 lens, Taken @ f6.3,400mm, Hand held from a floating boat, 1/320, ISO 640, -.67 Meter Compensation.
Slight crop but still about 80% of full frame.
Comments and Feedback very much appreciated.
Bill
ps... I have added many Images of the Khutzeymateen on my WEB.
Comments
5 commentsVery nice....the thing that stands out to me right away...is the massive bicep muscles on the Grizzly...impressive!
Great capture.
Guy
Great to receive your feedback! Powerful and well muscled, this Great Bear has been father to many over his breeding lifetime I am sure! At this capture he was sporting a very bad and damaged eye (Not seen from this view) But in his next season ( it was reported ) he looked Great with fullness and healed eye!
It is Heart-Breaking to understand the danger these creatures may be in, with a proposed Pipeline to be developed very close to this area . I am sure a ruptured pipelines oil based products would spread many many miles through waterways and purcolate down to the sea into the Khutzeymateen Grizzly Bear Sanctuary destroying the environment and much much more! My plans to travel into this Valley next springtime fills me with excitement and concern!
Bill
Nice shot of the big guy (Jerry - this is the bear some call Brutus) - and your shot shows how well muscled and powerful this guy is. In terms of the coat - the missing fur was only found on him that particular year - I suspect he had picked up some form of skin infection and/or parasite that he later shed. The only true missing "fur" on the bears in there tends to be the characteristic "receding" hairline on the forehead of many of the bears. While I have seen that mostly on males (and on older ones) in the Khutzeymateen, in recent years I have seen it on a few females too - so the explanation of "male pattern baldness" seems dubious!
Cheers...
Brad