1908_9126 Life In the Balance
A Pink Salmon, desperately trying to elude a hungry Black Bear, leaps from the shallow spawning steam only to land on a rock. For all their bulk, bears are agile and quick, and this one is about to clamp down on her meal... but... believe it or not, the salmon did a backflip and escaped! (Unfortunately it flipped behind that out of focus rock in the left foreground, so my next frame wasn't as good.)
My title refers to both of them. The salmon needs to spawn. The bear needs to pack on calories to get through the coming winter. The salmon that don't make it feed not only bears, but eagles, crows, wolves, vultures, gulls, and the forest itself (bears and eagles will carry their catch into the woods to consume, and the leftovers will fertilize the forest floor). This is how a healthy ecosystem should work. Whether the BC coastal ecosystem is healthy enough to maintain itself at this point is anyone's guess...
Wildlife action from the wild coast of British Columbia (Canada). Don't use this image on websites, blogs, or other media without explicit permission © 2019 James R. Page - all rights reserved.
1908_9126 Life In the Balance
A Pink Salmon, desperately trying to elude a hungry Black Bear, leaps from the shallow spawning steam only to land on a rock. For all their bulk, bears are agile and quick, and this one is about to clamp down on her meal... but... believe it or not, the salmon did a backflip and escaped! (Unfortunately it flipped behind that out of focus rock in the left foreground, so my next frame wasn't as good.)
My title refers to both of them. The salmon needs to spawn. The bear needs to pack on calories to get through the coming winter. The salmon that don't make it feed not only bears, but eagles, crows, wolves, vultures, gulls, and the forest itself (bears and eagles will carry their catch into the woods to consume, and the leftovers will fertilize the forest floor). This is how a healthy ecosystem should work. Whether the BC coastal ecosystem is healthy enough to maintain itself at this point is anyone's guess...
Wildlife action from the wild coast of British Columbia (Canada). Don't use this image on websites, blogs, or other media without explicit permission © 2019 James R. Page - all rights reserved.