Brown Bears
BearHead Photography has many images to showcase his expansive portfolio on mammals of North America, and these are his wild Brown Bear photos. BearHead Photography specializes in bear photos.
Coming at You
When brown bears are fishing they can become very excited and chase any fish they see. This brown bear was patrolling the river all afternoon when a salmon got stuck in shallow water near where I was standing. She turned immediately when she saw this and bolted like a freight train after that salmon. She had every determination to catch that fish, and she was successful.
Grand Prize Winner National Geographic Photo Contest
Bravo
Grizzly bear cubs are very playful when they are young. These cubs had been been playing and running around all evening. When they got a little further away from mother bear, this cub stood up to see where she was, and as when it did, it put its paws together to be able to stand and balance.
Highly Honored Photograph Nature’s Best Photography Competition
Clearly Fishing
Many waters in Alaska are crystal clear and you can see through to the bottom. This makes it especially neat when there are salmon and you can see all the salmon in the river. This brown bear could also see the fish and knew where to swim to, to catch them. I really like that you can see the bears paw under the water as it swims.
Highly Honored Photograph Nature’s Best Photography Competition
Turquoise Reflection
Late one evening as I was beginning to think I wouldn’t find this special bear, I saw him near a river. It really was getting dark and I knew there wasn’t much time, but I stopped and waited and hoped for something to happen. He moved across an opening and went to this shallow, beautifully colored turquoise stream got a drink. I was ecstatic not only because of the color of the water but because the bear was reflected!
Spectacular Walk
For years I have been wanting to capture bears in snow. It’s difficult because once the snow shows up, bears are often foraging for their last meals before heading to hibernate. I was so thankful this bear had not left yet and was still looking for salmon. When it crossed this small island and headed to the river, the snowy scene and river came to life!
A Perfect Moment
There are moments that are hard to capture because of their incredible beauty! Nature surprises me all the time with how amazing it can be! I did my best to capture this moment to try and let others feel just how incredible it was. Having all the elements in nature come together was a moment to remember!
Force of Nature
I’ve spent hundreds of hours on salmon rivers watching and photographing brown bears chase salmon. 99.99% of the time, the bears is not running in a way that is directly towards me. A bear can look like its running my direction, but if its looking to the side, it doesn’t give the same effect. I got a shot of a bear running right towards me many years ago, and I’m very excited to have finally gotten another bear charging through the water directly at me!
Standing on Mom
It is not a common sight to see a cub on its mother's back. This cub had climbed up while eating grass, and still had some in its mouth. Mother bear didn't seem to mind as its cub moved on her back.
Highly Honored Image-Nature’s Best Photography, National Park Competition
Perfect Drink
Photographing a mom and three cubs is difficult because it’s very rare for them to all be doing the same thing at the same time. When mom went to get a drink, her cubs all followed at the same time and somehow all got a drink at the same time!
Monster Dive
Brown bears run many different directions while chasing salmon, and its hard to know where they will go, because they follow the fish. When a fish leads a bear my direction, it gets very exciting. This large brown bear showed off its large claws as it dove at the salmon right in front of me!
Bear Flight
When the salmon show up, brown bears get very excited. All bears have different methods of how they like to catch fish, but I like the ones that go hard for the salmon. This bear would take off, and then fully dive into the air and try to catch salmon that way.
Massive Migration
Salmon are an incredible species because they know how to return to the exact river they were born in. They leave as a small fish to the ocean, and then migrate back as an adult with millions of other salmon. I had never found a location with so many fish in one spot until I found this area. As the bear sat in the river, the fish moved around the bear as they migrated up the river.
Hard Charging
Brown bears go all out chasing salmon. But salmon are not easy to catch as they are very fast and change directions quickly. This bear was closing in on a salmon when it changed directions suddenly, and this bear had to make a hard right to keep up with the fish.
Surprise Chase
Watching brown bears chase after salmon never gets old! The bears are so powerful, so determined, and they know it is the food they need to survive the winter. With this elevated view, it was fun watching this bear sneak up on the fish, and then charge after them from close range!
Leaning Over
While watching other bears fish below them, mother bear got nervous with her cubs on the cliff. So, she bent this tree down and it made a great barrier for the cubs to not go past. I couldn’t believe all 4 cubs came and looked across the long at the same time though!
Rise and Shine
Bears are just like humans when they wake up from a nap, groggy. This bear family had a good rest on the tidal flats, and were woken by the rising tide. They weren't ready to get up yet, but had to. The two cubs clung to their mother and wanted more rest, but mom knew better because of the rising tide.
Patience
Fishing far salmon takes skill and patience. If a bear were to run after each fish, it would burn more calories than it would gain from catching a fish. Large brown bears have learned over time that it pays to be more patient and let the fish come to them. This guy would just stand there, and then all of a sudden pounce and was usually successful and didn’t waste much energy.
Claw Power
There is nothing like salmon to a brown bear. They know salmon are what sustain their life and help them make it through hibernation. Once this bear was close to the salmon, it puts its claws out to make sure there was no way the fish could escape.
Paw Play
I’ve encountered many brown bear cubs on my trips, but this cub was one of my favorites! It had so much personality and always put on a show when we saw it. One of its favorite things to do was put its paw in its mouth and chew on it. I had never seen a cub do this before.
A Special Bear
Finding a white-phased grizzly bear was not something I ever expected to find! It is very rare for a grizzly to be white, and each time I saw it was a special encounter. On this day it decided to walk in our direction as it was foraging for grasses. Seeing it close and headed right toward us really showed off just how special this bear was!
Sockeye Circles
When there is such a high food resource, brown bears will tolerate another bears presence. There were hundreds, if not thousands, of sockeye in the river. The bear on the left didn’t even mind the other bear swimming over to it, and then they played with the sockeye around them. With two bears I really like how the fish encircled both bears.
Relaxed
We found this bear taking a nap on the beach. We slowly approached, and it kept sleeping for a long time. When it began to wake up, it stretched its legs and sprawled out. For just a brief moment it brought its head down to its paws, and looked like a human relaxing on the beach. This type of look you don't see from bears very often at all!
The Wild Coast
In Alaska you just never know what you might encounter with wildlife. There is such great diversity, and the animals are in numerous areas. Once this bear noticed the bald eagle had a fish, it went over to investigate. The eagle had eaten all it wanted and flew over the bear as it went to rest and digest its meal.
Family Line
Grizzly bears normally have between 1 and 3 cubs. 4 cubs can happen, but is really rare. This mother had her hands full caring for all of her cubs, and the cubs would closely follow her as she moved around looking for salmon.
Backcountry Walk
There are many, many mornings I get up and don’t even take a photo. But the reason I keep getting up is because moments like this only happen in the morning. As the sun was just beginning to come over the ridge, a low fog in the valley ignited in an orange glow. This mom and cub were moving along a small ridge, which allowed them to be silhouetted against the fog. I loved how I could still see the mountain in the background above the fog and how peaceful the scene felt as the valley and sky lit up with the first light of the day!
Large Movement
Many of the bears I see when out photographing are around the same size. I will see male bears that are larger than other bears around, but not ones all the time that are substantially larger. There was no mistaking this bear as he made his way down the river that he was a very large bear. It was also neat to see just how large his paws were as he walked the river too.
Bear Festival
When salmon really start to push up the river, bears start to show up from everywhere. Salmon are high in protein, and every bear wants to eat salmon. Congregations like this do not happen very often, but when they do bears tolerate each other fairly well because there is such a large supply of food.
Boss Walk
In the Canadian Rockies, the most famous bear is “The Boss.” He is a large dominant male that is usually the first bear out in the spring and the last bear to den in the winter. I’ve tried for years to find him, and never had any success. I was out looking for bears that may still be out, but wasn’t sure I would find any because there was a lot of snow and later in the year. Through the trees I saw movement, and after lots of waiting the bear came into an opening and I knew it was the Boss! Finally seeing and photographing him was a great experience!
Clamped In
The contrast in the bright red fish and the dark bear is terrific. You can see in the fish's eyes that it knows it is doomed. Many of the fish that bears catch are not this bright and colorful. This bear is happy about its catch and ready to eat.
Surrounded by Sockeye
When the salmon show up, so do the bears. Different years have different amounts of salmon returning to the river, but this was a very good year for salmon return. This bear was swimming in the river and the fish would move as the bear got closer to them and the fish would encircle the bear.
Caught
There were only a couple of bears that fished on Brooks Falls that were fast enough to catch salmon that did not jump right to them. This bear was probably the most successful bear at catching salmon that there was. As this salmon tried to sneak by, at the last second the bear turned its head and that salmon was caught.
Look What I Can Do
These cubs were so much fun to watch and play. It always seemed as if the other was trying to one up the other. After its sibling had stood up, this cubs stood up and waved while its sibling watched on.
Reflecting Steps
In the summer in Alaska, the nights just turn dusky and not all the way dark. It was nearly 11 p.m. when I spotted this mother and her 4 cubs for the first time. I was getting ready for bed, but that quickly changed and I hurried to find them again. They were moving down the lake shore looking for salmon to fish for. It was my very first time ever seeing a mother and 4 cubs, and having them all walk in a line on the lake shore sure made my night a lot better.
Claws Out
Brown bears will run and run in the river to catch a salmon. It’s amazing how fast they can move in the water chasing salmon. As this bear got close to the salmon, it lept with its claws out to catch a red sockeye salmon in the last light of the day!
Fall River
Watching bears fish for salmon is always a treat. Being able to do that in the fall makes it even better. The river just came to life in the fall. This bear was walking out from the woods to start swimming and fishing.
Bear King
Many Alaskan morning are cloudy and foggy. You get used to that being the norm. So when I headed out on this morning, it looked like a typical morning. Slowly, a few breaks in the clouds appeared, and finally one happened in front of the sun in my direction and lit up this brown bear and made him look like he was king of the area!
Curious Brothers
When something surprised these brothers they stood to see what it was. One brother ran to the other and then they stood up. After a long stand, and not quite what to do, they got down and ran some more.
Setting Bear
Daylight in Alaska in the summer time seems to be never ending. There aren’t many hours of darkness, so to get the good light you have to stay up late. I had noticed while at this location how the sun set and I was hoping for an opportunity for a bear to be in the right place at sunset. We found this bear and it stayed just barely in the short grass as the sun set and I was able to capture the setting sun behind the bear!
A Gentle Touch
Spending time with moms and cubs is always great. Mom’s will do anything to protect their cubs, and cubs know that they are safe when by their mom. This cub walked right over to its mom, and touched its nose to her nose, and it made for a very sweet moment.
Foggy Bear River
Being out in nature, you never know what weather you will encounter. On this morning, it had been so foggy I could hardly see a bear on the river. When the fog started to clear, it was neat seeing that there were a number of bears spread out along the river!
Motherly Play
When there are multiple cubs, those cubs will play with each other a lot. Many moms of multiple cubs don’t play lots with their cubs, because the cubs entertain themselves. These cubs were playing, but this mom wanted in on the fun and started pushing the cubs around. It was so fun watching her interact and play with the cubs!
Moody Morning
Many mornings when I’m up early, I don’t find anything to photograph, but the mornings I do, it is often a great opportunity. As a low lying fog was on the river, I was hoping a bear would come walking along, and finally this young bear did. I was happy when it walked to the point of the shore and looked out over the river. With the fog the way it was, it created the moody morning shot I was hoping for!
Fishing Large
This was one of the large brown bears I had ever seen. From a distance it looked like a bison. When he was on the river, no other bears came close to him in size, and they left him alone. For as big as he was, he was gentle when chasing fish and carefully chased fish when they were easy to get.
Mountain Home
Animals in their environment is a difficult, but fun shot to capture. I enjoy showing the environment the animals live in to show others where and how they live. This mom and cub were eating sedge grass in front of these incredible mountains. They ate near the same area every day I was there and seemed to be enjoying their home.
Valley Glow
I spend weeks in the backcountry waiting for just the right light. On this evening, the sun was beginning to go behind the mountains and cast this beautiful pink glow out over the valley. I was thankful this bear decided to come out of the grass and allow me to photograph it in front of the beautiful evening light that brought the landscape to life!
Playtime
This cub was one of my favorite cubs of all time. It always had so much energy and just wanted to play nonstop! I can’t even remember how many sticks it played with in the time I got to spend with it. In this moment it looked as if he was waving to make sure I saw it had the stick in its mouth!
Evening Ridge Chase
One of the best parts of nature is you never know what you are going to see! I saw a mom and 2 cubs come to the edge of a cliff and were looking down at the river. Another bear was approaching them, and got too close, so the mother took off and the cubs followed. Watching 4 bears run at full speed silhouetted on the ridge was quite the site and very unexpected!
Paw Slap
Grizzly bear moms are very protective. They will do anything to protect their cubs. As the fog was rising off the river early in the morning, this mom felt threatened. So she slapped the water with her paws and then stood up in a very aggressive posture and held her paws out to her side. This is not a mother bear I would want to mess with.
Dancing Cub
When bear cubs are young they are unpredictable. They move around and play as often as human kids do. As this family was eating, this cub decided to stand up and show off.
Spectacular Living
Brown bears live in beautiful locations all over Alaska. I’ve been fortunate enough to visit many of those places, but I have to say this area was the most spectacular. The scenery and beauty of this place was unmatched. This bear family were enjoying the nice day in front of the amazing mountains!
First Chase
Most of the time I have photographed bears chasing salmon, it has been overcast and even light. I like that light, but I also really like morning light! Finally, one morning I had my chance at first light and an active brown bear chasing salmon, and the color created with the first light on the bear was spectacular!
Golden Leap
Brown bears fish at all times of the day in the summer, and days last a long time in the summer. But bears seems to never tire of eating salmon, and this bear certainly didn’t get tired of chasing them. As the light was almost gone for the day, this bear laid out for one more salmon.
Beach Walk
This was this bear families first time out on the tidal flats. It was neat watching the three cubs experience and check out their new world. They would only get so far from mother, though, before running back to her.
River Glow
I was photographing bears in the river the opposite direction, when I heard a noise behind me. I turned around, and a bear was walking my way along the shore. I loved the lighting when I turned around, and the bear stopped and looked at the river as the sun rose over its shoulder.
Salmon Circle
When fish see a bear, they swim away to not get caught. They only have so much area they can go, so often they keep swimming around the bear. It was really neat to see a large circle around this bear as it kept trying to get closer and catch a fish.
Lake Home
Grizzlies in any environment is fun to photograph. When they live in the mountains on a lake it just adds to the fun and possibilities. This large grizzly was slowly making its way along the lake shore with the mountains in the background.
Shining Through
I really like being out early in the morning, as I never know what kind of weather or elements will present themselves. As I was crossing the river, I noticed the sun lighting up this fog in a beautiful way. All of a sudden, a bear appeared in the fog chasing a salmon, and it created an awesome moody shot!
Fall Searching
When bears are searching for salmon, it is amazing how far they can walk as they hunt. Some bears never seem to stay still, and just keep moving instead of staying in one spot. This bear really stayed on the move, but I loved it when it walked this rocky part of the river in front of the spectacular fall colors!
Eye Contact
Many times when I have been close to bears, it is because I was where the bear wanted to go and I happened to be in its way. So I just move over and the bear passes with no issues. This bear was going one way and then changed directions, and looked at me to say that I was now where it wanted to go, so I got up and moved and all was good. But I love how this shot captured the feeling the bear had at that moment!
Louise Bears
Banff national park is a beautiful park with tons of mountains and glaciers. It is heavily wooded, so there aren’t many opportunities for a shot like this. It was incredible seeing this grizzly family walk through an opening in front of the glacier above Lake Louise!
Tundra Family Portait
I had a lot of fun spending time with this family. The cubs were so small, but on the tundra I could see their entire bodies. These cubs also never got far from mom, which made for great photos. Here, they look back at a different bear family before continuing on their way over the hill.
Beautiful Look
When the leaves started to change and the river was reflecting the beautiful fall colors, this slow part of the river had the best color. Bears would seem to walk around this area instead of walking through it. Finally, a beautiful bear walked out from the shore and was surrounded by the yellow water!
Pink Walk
Most animals are active early in the morning, and brown bears are no exception to that. Getting up early is not always the easiest, but it helps knowing their may be good activity. Just as the first light of the day was appearing, this brown bear walked by and was silhouetted against the pink sky!
Aspen Bear
There is just something special about the fall! Everything seems to come to life more. In all areas that I photograph, there are always places I really hope I get to photograph an animal, because I know it would make for a great shot. It usually doesn’t happen, but on this afternoon this brown bear walked right in front of a grove of Aspens in peak fall colors, and I was very excited to capture the bear in front of the Aspens!
Winter is Coming
Bears don’t stop feeding when the first snow comes, but actually try to eat more because they know they will be hibernating soon. A merganser had caught the eye of this bear as it walked along looking for salmon, and wondered what the duck was doing.
Excited Run
When salmon first appear in a river, the bears are super excited! They have been waiting for that moment for months and can’t wait to start catching them. This bear appeared to have not had any salmon yet, and was running full speed in excitement toward the salmon.
Running By
My favorite time of year to photograph brown bears is when the salmon are running. The bears just get so excited and its always impressive watching them run through the water so effortlessly. This large male ran by us without even knowing we were there because he was so focused on the salmon.
River's Light
First and last light of a day offer spectacular color, if I can find an animal to photograph in that light. On this morning, I was out looking before the sunrise, and found this bear hunting for salmon. I was hoping it would stay around long enough for the sun to come over the ridge, and I was very happy when it was still in the river at first light!
Lupine Beauty
I’ve photographed bears in flowers before, but it’s usually a small group of flowers by the bear. When this bear went into an entire field of lupine flowers I got very excited. It was fun finally getting to capture a brown bear surrounded by flowers.
Tank
I’ve seen large bears before, but this bear may have been the largest I have ever seen! It was amazing the difference in size from this bear to the other bears in the meadow. He looked like a tank compared to the other bears of the area. Here he stands still and looks around the meadow at the other bears.
Smooth Swimming
Most of the areas where I photograph bears, the river is low and fast moving. I found this one area of a river where it slowed down and the water was calm also because it was a little deeper. I always kept my eye out for if a bear was in that area, and finally one day one was. I loved the how the silky smooth water reflected the fall colors as the bear swam!
Family Ridge Walk
When I first saw this family from a distance, I got excited. As they came closer I got more excited because the cubs were so small and stayed close to moms side. Photographing them as they moved across this ridge with the mountains behind them was a shot I had hoped would happen the moment I saw them!
A Yellow Look
Capturing animals in their environment is one of my favorite shots to get. Their environment change with the seasons, and each season gives a completely different look. The river and forest just came to life once the trees turned peak yellow.
Dreamy Bear
In places in Alaska, the wind never seems to stop and can easily blow over 40 mph consistently. It wears me out being in those conditions, but the bears don’t seem to care. As I was hunkered down behind a hill, this very blonde bear came my direction as the grass was moving fast and made it hard to see the bear.
Escaping Fish
When salmon are migrating up river, they find slower parts in the river to rest. These slower areas of the river will attract lots of fish, which then attracts the bears. This brown bear had its sights on a fish, as another fish jumps to get out of the way.
Bear Spot Light
This bear was walking along the tall grass in the background when it decided to walk to this other grass. As soon as it got into the light the bear glowed against the dark background! Moments like this where the amazing light and the animal cooperate are not common.
Golden Dive
It’s always exciting watching and photographing bears chase salmon. Brown bears go all out in their quest to catch a salmon, and it’s so much fun to witness. Here, in the last light of the day, a brown bear dives onto a school of salmon and the salmon it’s going after tries to leap out of the water to escape.
Sockeye Lunge
After swimming after the salmon, and not having much success, this bear tried a different tactic. Instead of swimming, it would jump and dive after them and try to catch them off guard. Its plan seemed to work when it would dive into a large school of salmon.
Sleeping Portrait
Brown bear cubs stay close to their mother when they are young, because she keeps them safe. When sleeping, they often try to be real close so nothing can sneak up on them. I rarely see them this close though, and having the one cub right beside moms face and the other on her back made for a great family portrait!
Bear River
In this area, there are often bears because the salmon are there. On this day, I was walking a trail, and when I popped out onto the river, I was amazed at how many bears there were. It was incredible to see so many bears so close to each other!
Going for a Ride
When cubs are real young, it is somewhat common for them to latch onto mom while she is swimming when they get tired. This little cub was tired of walking in the grass and decided to climb onto mom as she moved around and save its energy. Mom’s normally throw their cubs off if they climb on her back, but this evening she didn’t mind and let it ride.
Grizzly Rise
I was photographing bears the opposite direction, when a noise behind me got my attention. A bear was coming my way down the shore, and I loved the lighting that direction. I focused on this bear as it decided to walk into the river, and the run was rising just off its back and shining through the fog.
Rising Steam
This was an amazing morning, as the orage color of the sun lit up the river and surrounding area. Bears were chasing salmon and having success, so they were also happy. As this bear pauses to wait on a salmon, steam rises off its body due to him being much warmer than the outside air.
Blue Look
Brown bears swim in water pretty often. Even if they aren’t in water trying to go after salmon, they are swimming rivers and lakes across their territory as they move around. This bear was swimming a beautiful blue river and had its head above river as it was looking for salmon.
Golden Rising
After spending days and days waiting for a clear morning, I got better than a clear morning. A low fog was burning off as the sun was rising and created a more golden look to the morning. This brown bear was walking the river looking for salmon as the landscape behind it came to life with the rising sun!
Bear Glow
For as much time as I have spent in the field with bears, there are only a handful of moments where the morning light and a bear in a good situation worked out! The timing of the light and the subject is very difficult. Often you have one, but not the other, so on this morning I was very happy and thankful that this bear turned my way to fish as the first light made him glow in the river!
Canyon Walk
This white grizzly bear had been very hard to find, and I was excited when I finally found it in this canyon. I knew it eventually had to come up, so I waited and waited. Finally, it moved up out of the canyon and I was in a perfect spot as it crested the hill and I loved that it was lightly snowing to really show off the canyon behind the bear!
Roaming Wild
Denali is a park with over 6 million acres of protected land. There are only around 300 grizzly bears in the park, due to how hard it is to survive there. On a clear day, a grizzly bear roams the open tundra looking for berries in the fall.
Back Away
Mothers grizzly bears are very protective. They will do anything to protect their cubs. When this cub got scared and ran and hid behind mom, mother bear stood up to let whatever bear was around that she meant business and for that bear to leave.
King of the Stump
Brown bear cubs are just so much fun to watch. They are very playful, and if you wait long enough, they will likely give a good show. These two cubs played for well over 30 minutes, and there favorite place to play was on this stump, and each cub took turns being king of the stump.
Island Walker
Sunrises in Alaska during the summer are very early. It feels like sometimes I had barely gone to sleep and am having to get up again for sunrise. But when you are tired, a scene like this wakes me up real fast. This brown bear was walking the little island to not scare the fish and be able to surprise them first thing in the morning.
Family Rest
Being a bear mother can be a tough time. Constantly having to watch over her little cubs, and still get enough food to feed herself and them is very tiring. The cubs would sometimes play on this log, but it looked like a nice pillow to this mom on this occasion. I'm sure she wanted a peaceful sleep to herself, but her cubs came over and joined her far a nap on the log.
Cub King
There are many animals I have hoped to capture on a ridge with glaciers behind them. Brown bears were not one of those I realistically thought I would capture one day. When I saw this mom and cub go up on this ridge I got incredibly excited! As mom went to lay down the cub began to play and climb around the rocks. This scene was incredible and a shot I never expected to capture!
Just out of Reach
When salmon first show up on the river, brown bears are hungry and ready to eat. Some bears chase salmon without much success and burn lots of calories just chasing after fish. This bear was determined to catch this salmon, and when it knew it was likely to get away, it dove in a last ditch effort to catch it.
Painted Reflection
As I was watching this bear walk the shore, I saw a calm area ahead that was reflected, and hoped it would walk there. When it made it to that spot, I liked it even more than I anticipated, because the water reflection looked like a painting!
Morning Crossing
There are too many times to count when I had a great setting with wildlife, but no light. Having both come together perfectly on this morning was a dream. As I ran to the stream, hoping they would cross in the perfect morning light, I waited only briefly before they decided to cross. The morning light, reflection, and mountains made for a dramatic backcountry Alaskan scene.
Sitting Side-by-Side
This bear family was resting quietly on the shore of the river, when across the river another bear started to chase a fish. This startled the bear family and they woke up. They decided to sit there and watch the bear fish, and make sure that it did not come their direction. The bears stayed close, so in case they had to leave they knew where each other was.
First Beach Walk
Seeing brown bear cubs in the spring is always a thrill. The cubs are small and new to the world and playful and cute. After spending a number of days in the place, it was special to see this family on its first walk of the beach and see how interested the cubs were to explore their new world.
Standing Sunrise
Being out early and late is a requirement as a wildlife photographer. Lots of action happens at these times, and I always want to be out when the action is going on. Just as the sunrise was coming over the mountains, this brown bear stood to try to find salmon!
Snow Forest
Seeing the forest covered in snow at the end of fall was spectacular. The fall colors were still visible under the snow, and it really made the forest pop with color. This beautiful bear was just coming out of the forest when I spotted it.
So Many Options
When there are so many salmon, how is a bear suppose to choose? This brown bear had been swimming after the salmon, but when its feet could hit the bottom it would stand up and try to catch the salmon that way.
Bear Glow
Bears like to fish early in the morning. This bear had been fishing long before the sun came up. When the sun did rise over the mountains, this bear was in the middle of the river and the sun rim lit the outer fur and highlighted its outline!
Prized Clam
When brown bear cubs are young, they do not know how to dig for clams. They depend on mom to find them. Cubs often like to play more than search for food anyway, and this cub really liked the clam shell and carried it around like a prize.
Aspen Backdrop
I love being out in the fall photographing animals, and particularly bears. The many different colors of fall add a dynamic that isn’t available the rest of the year. As this bear was walking up the river looking for salmon, the aspen trees in the background made for a great backdrop!
A White Look
Finding this very rare white-phased grizzly bear was incredible. I had never seen a bear like it, and likely won’t again. Being close to it on this occasion allowed me to get a great look at this special bear.
Be Like Mom
This mother bear might have been the best mother bear I have ever seen. All other bears in this area were scared of her, and the cubs knew if they were by her side they were safe. Another bear across a river has gotten their attention and they watch it walk and make sure it doesn’t come closer.
Snowy Ridge
Grizzly bears come out of hibernation in the spring. When they come out, there usually isn’t much that has greened up yet and they wander long distances looking for food. It can also still be cold, and this bear was caught in a heavy snow storm as it looked over a ridge trying to see where to go next.
A Mom's Comfort
Brown bear cubs are very small for a few months, and depend on their mom to protect them. Cubs know this very well, and any time anything spooks them, they run to mom. As another bear fished nearby, these cubs all surrounded their mom and one even sat under her for extra comfort.
Mother Beauty
This was one big mama bear. Bears of this size I would from a distance were a male, but I knew she was a female because she had cubs. As the last light of the day hit her, it really showed off her beauty as well as the land the lived in.
Touching Paws
When cubs are young, they do not know how to dig for clams. They will watch mom and try to imitate her, but they don’t know how find clams to dig for. So when mom does pull up a clam, they will try to get some of hers. This cub was hungry and went right onto her paw to get a bite of the clam.
Cub Wave
Brown bear cubs never cease to amaze me. They are so full of life and never stop moving. This cub and its sibling were on the river bank waiting for mom to come back with a fish when all of a sudden this cub stood up and balanced for a while before looking like it was waving at its mom!
Touching Mom
When photographing moms and cubs you have to always be ready. Cubs are so playful and you never know when they may do something cute. As a bear came out of the woods, it caught the attention of this mother and cub and they watched it carefully to make sure it went the other way.
Bear Festival Pano
When salmon really start to push up the river, bears start to show up from everywhere. Salmon are high in protein, and every bear wants to eat salmon. Congregations like this do not happen very often, but when they do bears tolerate each other fairly well because there is such a large supply of food.
Swarming Gulls
During the salmon run, bears are not the only animal that feed on the salmon. Many different animals depend on the salmon, and sea gulls are one of them. They can’t catch a salmon, but they wait to eat the scraps after a bear is done. At the first light of the day, a bear gets swarmed by gulls as it finishes its fish.
Glistening Walk
In places in Alaska, brown bears have learned how to dig for clams when the tide goes out. Often, there is still a thin layer of water on the tidal flats as the tide recedes. This bear headed out early to dig for clams as the water glistened off the water.
Highlight Shake
When bears are in water, their fur gets wet and they don’t like it being wet. So they shake and get as much water off as possible. This grizzly had just come up from trying to catch a salmon, and didn’t want its face wet, so it shook off with the sun highlighting the water spray.
Three Looks
These spring cubs were too young to fish, so while mom was fishing they would often play or watch mom fish. After mom was fishing for a long time, the three cubs sat close together and watched mom and waited for her to bring them a fish.
Determined
Capturing bears in snow is not easy, as when it starts to snow they are often on their way to their den to hibernate. An early snowfall caught this bear off guard and it was still trying to fatten up before winter. Here it moves in the snow to find more roots to dig up under the snow.
Vibrant Walk
After being on this river a few days and seeing the colors get to peak, I was really hoping to have a bear walk in front of the trees. It was so great having this bear walk right where I wanted and the yellow reflection off the water made it that much more colorful!
Backcountry Gathering
In the backcountry of Alaska there is some incredible bear habitat. In different seasons brown bears will gather in large numbers to eat the highly available food resource. It was neat seeing all these bears in one spot and how they interacted with each other, because bears are usually solitary animals.
Out of the Shadows
I had been watching the bear for a while on the river, but it was along the tree line and in the shadows. Slowly it made its way further out into the river, and the is the moment it left the shadows and came into the light.
Living Free
Being in Alaska off the grid with brown bears is the best. When the weather was like it was on this day, it is just paradise to me. This family was eating the sedge grasses and seemed to have no care in the world.
Hanging Out
Grizzly bears are curious animals. This grizzly had been playing with another grizzly for a long time, when this log caught its attention. It begun pushing on the log and the log pushed back. The bear really enjoyed this and played with the log for a while.
A Special Look
This very rare white grizzly bear is a beautiful bear! It’s so rare I likely will never see a bear like it again. It was walking on an edge of a hill with a dark canyon wall behind it in a snowstorm, which really showed off just how white and special it was!
Waving Back
I was watching this cub and its family for some time, but thankfully decided to focus on this cub for a little while. Things happen in nature so fast, and all of a sudden this cub stood up and started scratching its back. It all happened so fast, but I love how it looked like he was waving while scratching his back!
Standing Together
With mother not being right beside the cubs, they had to look out for themselves. They were on high alert to anything and would stand if they heard anything at all. Finally, something made them all stand and look my direction at the same time and it was perfect.
Golden Bear
This grass was an area I really liked when bears would walk in front of it. In the evening I liked it even more because the forest in the background would already have no light on it and be very dark and create an incredible contrast. One evening this bear walked along the grass at a perfect time in the last light of the day and came to life against the grass and background!
Salmon Dive
I can only imagine what this bear was thinking when it saw all these salmon. At first it slowly entered the water, but then it couldn’t contain its excitement and ran and dove at the salmon!
Blue River
The color of this river was a spectacular blue. When it snowed, the color got an even darker blue when it was calm enough for the forest to be reflected in the river.
Coastal Beauty
Clear days are made that much more special is Alaska because they don’t happen that often. If all the days looked like this I would never leave Alaska. But because the weather is often bad, it makes me appreciate the clear days like this even more. On a day with no clouds and no wind, a brown bear goes for a walk in the completely calm coastal water.
Winter's Walk
Seeing a bear in the snow is always exciting, but it’s even more exciting when they are on the river. The river really helps bring out the bear and snow and create a lot of contrast. This bear was still looking for salmon as winter was coming soon.
Timeless
Bears have many techniques for catching salmon. Some bears chase fish in the shallow areas, some jump from the banks, and some wait for the salmon to come to them. This male bear stood perfectly still for a long time, and was rewarded when a salmon came right to him.
Walking Out
As this bear was moving through the woods I thought it was unusually light colored. When it came out of the woods and I saw that it was actually white and not blonde, I couldn’t believe it! This was my first moment seeing this bear clearly and what an incredible bear to find!
Red Dinner
Bears chasing after red salmon is quite the site to see! However, most of the time when a bear catches a fish it goes the other direction. When this bear walked my way I was happily shocked and also very happy to get the fish in its mouth head on!
Mom's Protection
When brown bear cubs are small, they completely depend on mom to protect them. Most things scare them, as they are quite small when first born. As other bears were moving around the river, this cub got scared and went under mom for protection.
Ocean View
The beautiful thing about nature is you never know when something beautiful will happen. It can happen at any time in the day. This was mid morning, but the way the sun broke between the clouds as this bear walked the ocean shore made for an amazing scene!
Morning Glow
Sunrises in Alaska can be spectacular. On this morning it wasn't that early in the morning, the light was just spectacular later on. As this mom and cub moved around, the light made everything glow.
This One's Mine
When there is a strong push of fish up Brooks River it makes it much easier for the bears to catch fish. Only four or five times during the salmon run did a large push up the river occur. This bear continually missed fish, but so many were jumping it was bound to catch one. A fish finally jumped right to it and it had its next meal.
A Pink Swim
On this morning we noticed that the clouds were turning pink, and then that pink was reflected in the water. There was a bear nearby fishing for salmon, and I was just hoping it would swim our direction before the pink was gone. Thankfully it did just in time and I loved how the pink glow surrounded the bear as it swam.
Evening Glacier
When photographing bears in an area that has such beauty around it, I like to capture the bears with their environment. The glacier and mountains were spectacular and I was always trying to get bears to be in front of the glacier. I was very excited when this family went to get a drink in the last light of the day and were reflected in the river in front of the glacier!
Family Overlook
I was down on the river watching a bear fish for salmon, when I looked up and saw this family on the ridge. They slowly moved closer my direction and eventually were on the ridge close to where I was. The cubs hung very close to mom as other bears were around, and I loved how the one cub was right beneath mom as it looked over the berm.
Fish Chase
Bears chase each other often for a fresh salmon, it is just normally in the opposite direction from me. The bear that caught the fish was so surprised to see this bear running at it, that it took off immediately in the direction it was facing. They came charging right by us and kept going without even pretending we were there. Nothing can get in the way of hungry bears.
River Attention
Bear families have to be careful on the river, because there are many bears that use the river to catch salmon. A male was in the middle of the river fishing and had the full attention of this family.
Foggy Run
Moody mornings are fun because they can provide a unique photo opportunity. They are also difficult because the conditions have to be just right to create the shot. This brown bear was chasing salmon in the fog, but it was so thick I could barely see him. It eventually ran our way, and with the sun just starting to hit the mountains above the fog, the shot came together with the bear chasing salmon in the heavy fog!
Investigating
Cubs are often curious of their surroundings. They are new to the world and just want to explore and find out things they don’t already know. This cub liked to stand for a few seconds and check out his amazing home.
A Fall Environment
Nature is a beautiful place! And there are endless places that are beautiful. I enjoy capturing animals in front of that beauty to show where that animal lives. It can be difficult to line up the landscape and the animal, but when it all comes together, it looks amazing!
River Walker
Salmon attract many animals to the river, but bear particularly are drawn in by the salmon. They need the salmon to survive the winter, and the more salmon they eat, the better off they are. This bear was walking the river in the fall and picking up lots of salmon.
The Wild Coast Pano
In Alaska you just never know what you might encounter with wildlife. There is such great diversity, and the animals are in numerous areas. Once this bear noticed the bald eagle had a fish, it went over to investigate. The eagle had eaten all it wanted and flew over the bear as it went to rest and digest its meal.
Foggy Searching
As this bear was swimming and looking for fish, I could barely see him through the fog. When he got to more shallow ground, all of a sudden I saw how big he was and loved how dramatic the fog made the scene.
Intense Chase
One of the most exciting things for me to see in the wild is bears chasing salmon. It is intense because the bears go all out to catch the fish. This bear chased a fish right to us and it felt like it was going to run into our laps!
Nap Time
Where better in nature to take a nap than on a log. This bear family was obviously tired, and they all decided this log looked like the perfect place for a nap. The year prior, I had actually gotten this exact family on this log sleeping together, except they were all right beside each other. It was very neat seeing them a year later sleeping on the exact same log.
Fall Lookout
As the weather and color changes in the fall, brown bears know their time is dwindling to fatten up for winter. Salmon are the fastest way to get fat, and here a bear looks out at the river as the rain falls trying to find salmon.
I Mean Business
During the fishing season for salmon, Alaskan brown bears are very serious. They know this is the best time to fatten up to survive the long winter, and it is key to their survival to eat as many fish as possible. With another bear approaching this bears fishing hole, it stood to let them know not to mess with her.
Rare Play
After seeing this rare white grizzly bear a number of times, I finally had the good fortune of seeing it with a normal colored grizzly bear which was its sibling. Even though these bears had been kicked out by there more for at least a couple of years, they would still get back together at times. I was excited not only because they played when they greeted each other, but because it really showed off how white the one bear was!
Close-Up Playing
As cubs, brown bears play a lot. It is good for them to play fight with their sibling, as it prepares them for when they are older and have to actually fight. In this close-up, the cub on the right has the upper hand while these cubs play with each other.
A Rare Find
Finding this rare bear is not easy. As it’s the only white phased grizzly, it means I have to find this one bears to get pictures of a white grizzly. There is not telling how long this bear had been hanging out down the hillside by the river, but I finally found it. I really liked how the color of the river really made the color of this bear stick out against its surroundings.
River Monster
Bear poses like this are a sign to other bears, do not come into my area. This was one of the largest bears who came to the river to fish, and he did not like to be bothered when he was fishing. If a bear came into his territory, he quickly learned to not make that mistake again.
Sunrise Fish
Bears like to be out early in the morning feeding. Just as the sun was rising, this bear caught a beautiful sockeye salmon and begun to feed on it the yellow reflection of the water.
Family Lines
Grizzly bears normally have between 1 and 3 cubs. 4 cubs can happen, but is really rare. This mother had her hands full caring for all of her cubs, and the cubs would closely follow her as she moved around looking for salmon.
Snow Face
This bear had been walking through the bush before it decided to come out to the river. Its head and back were covered in snow from all the snow falling off the bushes. I loved its look as it made its way along the river looking for salmon.
Tundra Bear
In the open tundra of Denali, it is difficult to find a good angle to photograph a grizzly bear. Short of a close up shot, creating a dramatic photo is difficult. When I saw this bear going along this ridge, I hurried to get in position to capture it with the snow capped mountain behind him.
Aspen Forest Grizzly
When the forest turns to yellow, the whole landscape comes to life. In the north, aspen trees turn a beautiful yellow and create a great contrast with their white wood. As this grizzly walked the shoreline, the fall aspens shined yellow and that color reflected in the water.
What's Over There?
Being in an open meadow with brown bears is a lot of fun. I really get to see how they behave and live. This cub was tired of eating and became curious and walked over to check us out.
Free Ride
This was the first time I saw these bears that summer. They were coming from digging for clams and the rising water had gotten to the cubs. This cub climbed on to survive the water, and looked back at its sibling to make sure it knew he was on mother.
Cub Climber
When grizzlies are cubs that can climb trees easily. As they grow and their claws grow, it becomes harder for them, but they can still climb trees. A noise scared this cub and it climbed the tree to get a better look.
Coming Alive
When the colors start to change, the contrast of the landscape changes in a great way. Instead of mostly greem, the yellows and oranges fill the landscape with color. As this grizzly walked the river looking for salmon, the forest behind it looked alive!
Alaska Living
On a beautiful day in Alaska, there is no place I would rather be. The animals and the mountains are just incredible! This mother bear went out to get a drink and cool off, but her cubs didn’t want to get wet. They eventually followed her, but not before complaining a little.
Peek-a-Boo
Watching young bear cubs play never gets old. They have the protection of mother, and act as if there is nothing in the world that could bother them. They have such a great time and really play when they are young. These two cubs were usually really close to each other, and both wanted to take a look to see where mother was before playing some more.
A Yellow Swim
In the very early morning this bear was out swimming and trying to catch a salmon. It was so early that the fall colors were very saturated because the sun hadn’t come up yet. I loved how the colors were so different than when the sun is up.
Laying Out
As a fish is about to go past this bear it does everything it can to not let that happen. Salmon are extremely fast swimmers, so this bear had to lay out where it thought the salmon would be when it finished jumping. This is a last ditch effort to try and catch the salmon.
White Walk
I enjoy going out early in the season and looking for bears when they first come out of hibernation. Bears are fun to photograph, and I haven’t seen any since the fall, so I am ready to see bears and photograph them again. This white grizzly bear is extremely rare, and when I found it in this snow storm I knew it would create an exciting photo with its light colored fur and the snow falling around it!
Glowing Reflection
Animals tend to move more in the early morning and late afternoon. Finding animals right as the sun is rising is difficult though. There are only a few minutes when the light turns everything pink, and I'm rarely in position for those perfect few minutes. My day was made after only a few minutes into it when I was able to get this mother crossing a stream at first light.
Red Dinner
After being in a fresh water stream a little while, sockeye salmon start to turn red. They no longer eat, and begin their last journey of their life. They are not as quick anymore, and bears can catch them more easily without burning lots of calories chasing them.
Mountain Rest
Once the sun comes up and it starts to warm up, many animals will go take a nap and rest. It’s usually in the forest in the shade, but this mother bear picked a different spot. When I saw her on an open ridge with her cub and the mountain behind them, I had to pause and make sure I wasn’t seeing something. It was so neat seeing them up there and a little bird even came to check them out.
Hide and Seek
Before this moment, both cubs had been on the same side of the tree waiting on mom. When the one cub left I didn’t know where it went. When it popped its head out on the other side of the tree, it made for a great moment with each cub looking from each side of the tree.
Beautiful Bear
Grizzly bears can come in many different colors. The brown color is the most common though. So when I saw this beautiful dark colored bear I spent a lot of time with it before it came into an opening and I was able to fully capture the bear and its beautiful color.
Double Catch
It is not common at all for a bear to come up with 2 salmon. Most bears when they get one are happy and start eating it. This bear was a masterful fisher and came up with 2 salmon!
Peaking Around
This family was peacefully resting on the tundra and taking a nap. Mother bear heard a noise and woke up, and the cubs woke up too. The cubs stood and peaked around mother bear to make sure everything was ok.
Sticking Out
On this river I had seen a number of bears, but on this morning I thought this cub was extremely light colored. It stuck out against the dark forest, and I realized this was a cub I had not seen yet. It was a very pretty and light colored cub and stood out from all the other bears.
Fish Searching
Many times when a bear has an unsuccessful chase of a salmon, they stand up almost in disbelief. The bear is trying to get a better view of where that fish could have possibly gone. If a bear does not stand up in the creek it is as if they did not believe they could catch the salmon. A standing bear in the creek is a determined bear, and the early morning light made its fur look the same color as the beach.
Hold On Tight
It is very uncommon for grizzly bear cubs to be on their mothers back. These cubs had gotten scared a day earlier in water, and they didn't want to have that happen again. So as mother got up from feeding them, they hung on tight and rode on her back as they left the tidal flats and the incoming tide.
Blue Alaska
Before the sun rises is always a great time to see wildlife. Usually they are moving around in search of food before the day comes. The mountains are 55 miles across the water and are only visible on the clearest of days. It was not long before the sun came up that this bear started scanning the tidal flats looking for clams as the sky was reflected in the shallow water.
Coastal Reflections
The coast of Alaska is an amazing place for brown bears to live. The food is plentiful and the scenery is spectacular! On a clear morning, a brown bear moves across a shallow body of water that is perfectly reflecting the mountains!
Looking Out
Grizzly bear cubs depend solely on their mother for protection and food. Walking the river can be a scary place for a cub, with so many males around at times. Unsure of a bear approaching, this cub crawled under its mother and watched from her protection.
Cheese
Cub are the most fun to watch, because they are unpredictable. This 3rd year grizzly bear cub was eating grass and not doing anything photogenic. Then, all of a sudden, it bragged the branch and leaned back and was being very playful and cute with the branch.
First Snowfall
On the first snowfall, we were out early hoping to find a bear in the fresh snow. It didn’t take long before this bear appeared along the river. Seeing the snow on its back and all the snow on the ground was more than worth the early wake up!
Teddy Bear
Young bears are often appealing to look at. They have nice round faces and are very playful and cuddly. When this young bear turned around in the grass to look back at its sibling, it actually looked like a stuffed teddy bear.
A Fall Look
Bears fatten up in the fall to make it through hibernation. Bears can be much bigger in the fall than when they come out in the spring. As soon as this bear caught my eye I knew it was very large, and as it got closer its size got even more impressive.
Sunrise Clamming
It is not very often that a morning is as nice as this morning was. Bears are often out on the tidal flats digging for clams in the morning, it is just not often than the morning is exceptionally nice. As the sun began to come over the horizon it was very difficult to look at the bear because of the sun. In my eyes the scene did not look like this, but being able to adjust the camera settings I was able to capture this peaceful scene on a beautiful morning.
Paw Tap
Animals will often do things that make us say, “I’m just like that”. It really is fun to watch animals and notice their behaviour when they do things and act so similar to us. After some fun, these cubs go to put their paws together as to almost say, “that was fun and let’s do it again sometime”.
Tidal Fight
Adolescent bears are at the bottom of the totem pole in a bears world. Bears don't like being chased or harassed, so when they see another younger bear they try to be dominate over that bear because they are tired of getting pushed around. Neither of these bears were giving up ground, and growled and fought back against the other.
Walking Behind
Many times when cubs are young they don’t like to swim with their mother, but wait until she brings the fish to them on shore. I really liked how the cubs in the background were on both sides of her as she swam in the river in the fall.
Lined Up
Following a mother with 4 spring cubs was an amazing experience! The cubs followed mother closely as she moved around looking for fish down below. As another bear walked the river, it caught all of their attentions and they stopped and watched it.
Morning Tide
Brown bears will head out on the tidal flats to dig for clams. I always get excited when I see a low tide early in the morning, as that means there is a chance a bear will be out early with the sunrise on the tidal flats. This was a special morning watching this bear walk the flats with the first light of the day!
Excited Bear
Nothing gets a bear excited more than a struggling salmon. Bears will run great distances for a salmon. No matter how much energy they expend to get to the salmon, as long as they catch the salmon it is worth it. This bear had to deep of water to go through, but it gave a valiant effort.
Where are You?
Baby grizzly bears are very playful and full of energy. This cub and its sibling had been playing for hours, and finally stopped. After laying in the grass a while, this cub sat up and began licking his paws, and curiously looking over at its sibling.
Large Walking
Finding this large bear was a treat. Usually these large bears are not seen as they stay high up in the mountains, but in early spring they will be in the valleys as the snow up high has not melted yet. When I saw this guy walking through the forest I was excited as he was coming my direction!
Beautiful Family
Early one morning I saw these bears in the distance, mostly because the cub was a light color. As it got a little brighter, I noticed the mom had a beautiful ring around her neck and the cub had incredible coloration in its fur. I had never seen a mom and cub with these types of coloration and beauty. They never came close, but watching them across the river was still great because they were such beautiful bears!
Don't Come Any Closer
When fish make it to the rivers in Alaska, the bears no longer care about any other food source. They know that the fish is what will fatten them up enough to survive the long winter. After missing a fish, this bear stood to see where it went and to alert other bears to not mess with him.
In Her Arms
After nursing her cubs, this exhausted mother laid down for a nap. As she was about to fall asleep, one cub came and curled up with her. As she put her head back down, only the cubs head was sticking out between her head and arm, and I'm sure the cub was comfortable in her moms arms.
Searching for Clams
Grizzly bears use their nose to search and find clams in the tidal flats. On a clear morning, this blonde bear was giving it one last try before the rising tide would push her to shore.
Young Light
Photographing any animal in the last light of the day is a treat. Being able to photograph a young brown bear cub in this amazing light was a moment I had been waiting for for years! This little cub was content to stay in this patch of grass and eat in the last light of the day!
Swimming Together
After waking up from their nap, mother bear quickly moved on across the river. After stumbling up to the river, it took the cubs a while to decide to cross. After one cub finally jumped in, the other 2 followed closely by. They swam as fast as they could across the river to catch up with mother.
On a Mission
Bears can be intense when chasing fish, but once they catch a fish they become even more intense. The want to make sure that they are the only one eating that salmon after working hard to catch the salmon. Only seconds after catching this salmon, the bear took off toward shore to make sure no one was following.
Water Fight
In Alaska, June and July is when bears mate. They don't have a long time to mate, and therefore the fighting can be intense for the right to mate. This was a male and female arguing, and the female wasn't ready to mate. Shortly after this photo they took off in a big chase.
Antler Eyes
Young bears are playful and curious. When this grizzly bear saw this set of moose antlers, it had likely never seen antlers before by the way he played with them. It was very curious and didn't know what to make of the antlers. Watching it bite them and move them around was fun to watch.
Red Jumping
In the summer in Alaska fish migrate back to their home river to spawn. Watching thousands of fish move upstream is an amazing sight. Once the fish turn red they are normally already where they need to be to spawn. It was very rare to see a red fish jump at the falls.
Alaskan Beauty
The scenery along the Alaskan coast is beautiful. When a couple of bears are walking the beach with distant mountains behind them, it doesn't get much better.
Beach Wanderers
The beach is a great way to travel a large distance. It is easy to navigate, and bears can see a long way. As this family was moving down the beach, another bear family caught their attention, and they stopped to see where they would go.
Get Off
When a bear only has one cub, it is up to her to play with her cub and prepare it for fights with other bears. In its third year, she had taught the cub well and was trying to push it off of her during a serious play fight.
Swimming Dinner
Once the tide goes out, the creek becomes very shallow where it empties into the ocean. In the salmon's excitement of running away from the bear it lost track of where it was and swam into a real shallow area. As the bear closes in to grab it, the salmon swims harder but to no avail. This bear will have dinner tonight.
Morning Shine
The Alaskan shore line is very large. It goes for miles, and offers animals a different food source when the tide is out. This grizzly bear walked along as the sun poked through the clouds.
Valley Fight
It was amazing watching these two bears fight and fight and fight. It was never serious, but these bears obviously enjoyed play fighting with each other because it went on for well over 30 minutes. They eventually moved into an area that had fireweed, and it made for a great photo of them standing and fighting in the flowers!
Nursing
Grizzly bear cubs will be nursed by their mother for the first two years. When they are real young, they get nursed a few times a day. Mother bear doesn't always want to nurse and will move away from them. After enough whining, she normally gives in, even if she has to lay in water.
Morning Migration
When the tides are right the bears have to fish, no matter what time of day it is. These bears were all fishing on the creek when something down the shore caught their attention. At once they all headed down the beach to check out what had caught their attention. Something big had to have happened for all of them to stop fishing and migrate down the beach.
Waiting Patiently
Patience is not the best virtue for most bears. The first fish they see they usually go after. This bear, on the other hand, had been standing still for over 30 minutes just waiting for the right fish to come by.
Cub Fight
I tried to watch these two cubs as much as possible. They were the most playful spring cubs I had ever seen. They would chase each other around and around, and then start pushing each other around. It was a never ending game.
Great Spaces
Denali is such an amazing park because of the diversity and amount of beautiful land it holds. Animals have miles and miles of amazing territory to call their home. This bear couldn't have chosen a better home, in my opinion, because he had mountains, lakes, and endless berries to feed on. Denali is a special place.
Patiently Searching
Fish do not jump up the falls every minute. It takes patience to be able to catch a fish on top of the falls. This mother bear decided to teach her cubs about patience, and took them to the falls. It was amazing to watch them all stand there so still waiting on a fish to jump.
Dancing Bear
Alaskan rivers are not warm at all. They are mostly fed from snow melt and most rivers never get above 45 degrees. As this bear steps in the water it is not what it expected. It was testing out the water and it did not like what it felt.
Prayer Time
After digging in an old stump and uprooting some ants, this bear wanted to taste its paws. After trying to do that while still on all fours, it decided to stand and taste them. Right after standing it brought its paws together like it was praying and started licking its paws.
Snow Playing
These young grizzly bears were likely siblings. When I found them, they were rolling and rolling around. They were just having the best time playing on the snow.
Scared Cub
Even though this cub was right beside mother, it was still scared. There was a bear across the river from them, and the only thing the cub could think to do was cover its eyes. The other bear did not do anything because mother was there and the cub should have been comforted by that.
Snow Log Walk
The first snow of the year is always a fun time to be out photographing. Bears were still fishing on this river when the snow came, and this young cub was following behind its mother and didn’t want to get wet so it walked on this freshly covered snow log.
Survivor
You just never know what you will encounter when traveling. Nothing like a huge surprise to see a grizzly bear standing over a black bear right off the highway. I didn't get to see it happen, but from looking at the scene it was obvious the grizzly bad taken the black bear down.
Bear Hug
Sub adult bears are learning their rightful place in the hierarchy of bears. I suspect these young bears were siblings that recognized each other, and began lightly playing with each other. It was fun watching these bears play for fun for a long time.
Standing Mountain
Grizzly bear cubs have it made in Alaska. They get to live in a great spot, and their mother watches out for them and feeds them. This mother caught wind of another bear, and stood to see if she could see it. The cubs just kept eating and had no idea they were potentially in danger.
Curious Cub
When bears are young, they are exploring the world and figuring everything out for the first time. This cub wanted to see around its mother and see what she was looking at.
An Early Walk
In the Alaskan summer, the sun is up for most of the day. Once September comes, though, it gets darker by 5 minutes every day. The bears still move around the same for the most part, it is just scarier trying to find them in the dark. As the sun began to rise this bear was patrolling the beach hoping to find a fish carcass that had washed up in the night.
Snow Covered
I had watched as this bear approached this island, and it had no snow on it. After a few minutes it reappeared and was absolutely covered in snow. It was neat seeing this bear so covered in snow.
Cub Lineup
These mothers were at the mouth of the river hunting for salmon a distance apart. Some eagles and sea gulls began making a lot of noise, and it caught their attention. They both went to investigate, and their cubs were right behind them as they went.