1909_0794 Black Bear
The Coolest Bear In the World, whom some of you will remember from last year's uploads, is back for another season at ye olde fishin' hole. My friend Mel, who has been observing her for years, named her Georgina and tells me she is nine years old. All the other regulars also have names, and this isn't an affectation: it helps us remember who is who, which bears are not likely to be problematic and which ones may be unpredictable and therefore need to be watched closely. When several bears are in the area, all vying for the same resource, it's important to know these things.
Georgina happened to be the name of my maternal grandmother, but there the resemblance ends; they're both beautiful, but in different ways. Although we remembered at all times that this is a wild animal - and a predator - it seems that an agreement has been made: photographers on this side of the spawning channel, bears on the other side, and no crossing over allowed. For the most part all parties follow this rule, but I have seen it violated several times, more often by humans than by bears. We are the most troublesome species on the planet.
On this day all is well, and Georgina has been trying her luck around "the hole", a deep pool where the salmon sometimes rest before making their final run upstream to their spawning grounds. Will she get lucky? Will a fish try to sneak past her? Will her superlative nose, surprisingly good eyesight, and lightning reflexes land her a meal? Stay tuned.
Photographed on the wild west 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.
1909_0794 Black Bear
The Coolest Bear In the World, whom some of you will remember from last year's uploads, is back for another season at ye olde fishin' hole. My friend Mel, who has been observing her for years, named her Georgina and tells me she is nine years old. All the other regulars also have names, and this isn't an affectation: it helps us remember who is who, which bears are not likely to be problematic and which ones may be unpredictable and therefore need to be watched closely. When several bears are in the area, all vying for the same resource, it's important to know these things.
Georgina happened to be the name of my maternal grandmother, but there the resemblance ends; they're both beautiful, but in different ways. Although we remembered at all times that this is a wild animal - and a predator - it seems that an agreement has been made: photographers on this side of the spawning channel, bears on the other side, and no crossing over allowed. For the most part all parties follow this rule, but I have seen it violated several times, more often by humans than by bears. We are the most troublesome species on the planet.
On this day all is well, and Georgina has been trying her luck around "the hole", a deep pool where the salmon sometimes rest before making their final run upstream to their spawning grounds. Will she get lucky? Will a fish try to sneak past her? Will her superlative nose, surprisingly good eyesight, and lightning reflexes land her a meal? Stay tuned.
Photographed on the wild west 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.