1808_8896 Bearobics
At last, a different bear! Leaving the World's Coolest Bear for today, we take a look at a lithe and limber male in his prime. Having long legs can be useful in many ways, which obviously includes bridging streams that other bears cannot. Btw, Ms Cool Bear hates this guy, as he is bigger than her and also a fish thief. But in the struggle to survive, there is no right and wrong - at least among animals - and he is merely using his physical gifts to best advantage.
Notes: We had names for each of these bears, but my feeling is that Mel has the copyright on those. She has far more experience with these particular bears than I have, and being able to identify individual bears and have some idea of their behaviour was really helpful from both a photographic and safety standpoint. We had to give some of the bears extra space. Some were to be trusted more than others. Every time a new bear arrived on the beach, I would ask her, "Who is this?" If she said, "Georgina", aka Cool Bear, we knew we could relax, but if it was "Brutus", we'd have to remain alert, as he was the alpha bear that would chase all the other bears off the beach and then turn his attention to us. Very interesting to see them as unique individuals, rather than the generic "bear" of brief roadside or back country encounters!
Photographed on the wild coast of British Columbia (Canada). Don't use this image on websites, blogs, or other media without explicit permission © 2018 James R. Page - all rights reserved.
1808_8896 Bearobics
At last, a different bear! Leaving the World's Coolest Bear for today, we take a look at a lithe and limber male in his prime. Having long legs can be useful in many ways, which obviously includes bridging streams that other bears cannot. Btw, Ms Cool Bear hates this guy, as he is bigger than her and also a fish thief. But in the struggle to survive, there is no right and wrong - at least among animals - and he is merely using his physical gifts to best advantage.
Notes: We had names for each of these bears, but my feeling is that Mel has the copyright on those. She has far more experience with these particular bears than I have, and being able to identify individual bears and have some idea of their behaviour was really helpful from both a photographic and safety standpoint. We had to give some of the bears extra space. Some were to be trusted more than others. Every time a new bear arrived on the beach, I would ask her, "Who is this?" If she said, "Georgina", aka Cool Bear, we knew we could relax, but if it was "Brutus", we'd have to remain alert, as he was the alpha bear that would chase all the other bears off the beach and then turn his attention to us. Very interesting to see them as unique individuals, rather than the generic "bear" of brief roadside or back country encounters!
Photographed on the wild coast of British Columbia (Canada). Don't use this image on websites, blogs, or other media without explicit permission © 2018 James R. Page - all rights reserved.