Hey Everyone,

These are some shots of a grizzly that we encountered while we were in Yellowstone. While we have seen grizzly in the past, it was the first time that we had one who was so obviously uninterested in us and willing to hang around a bit. We found the bear where we typically have in the past - in the Lake Region (the SE corner of YSNP). This was about a mile or two down the road from the Sylvan Lake, one of my favorite places to be in the Park (even though it is so remarkably inconvenient to everything else in the Park).

The week we were out in Yellowstone was pretty much entirely spent either in rain or cloud...which is fine as it allowed for some nice soft light to photograph the guy in mid-afternoon in.

Anyway, meet Hubert (or something like that). :P

You nailed him. Enviable work. Seems like you had a successful safari out west. My wife liked your capture of the fall foilage in the fog in the autumn colors thread as well.
So when are you two moving West?

great shots james,, thinking you were a bit to close though,, DAve

Hey Dave,

Thanks both for the comments. They are appreciated. And, Marty, thanks for the praise on the fog shot. It was one of my better shots from the trip...and certainly my wife's favorite.

As to being too close...well...we were definitely at the edge of too close. We were with a ranger, and we were behind a large vehicle, so I don't feel that we were in any danger. Had the ranger not been there, and more importantly, had the vehicle not been there, yeah...I would definitely say I was too close. :P

James

I agree with dave_lines, James you were getting too close. These are dangerous animals. One of our neighbors just had a brown bear come into her back yard and killed her dog, all her chickens and her goats. It took less than 5 minutes for all this killing to happen. We now have another bear that thinks of people as a source of food and this bear will probably get killed as a result.

excellent as all ways James, my favorite is the third.
the look on his face is priceless, looks like he's getting ready to ask a silly question...something like what are all those humans doing over there and why won't they come play with me?

Good job james.

BTW, lets not derail this post, but lets here from dave and dave about what's "too close," and how they know what too close is. . .

Just curious, it seems that each person has their own definition of too close to bears. If you go by park rules it's 100 yards. If you go by what the wardens say, it depends on the day, the time, and the particular situation.

The rules are FOR the protection of the bears in as much as it for the humans. Each situation is different.

Those are great shots, James! Really nice.

Re the question of 'too close' I defer to the experts, but my intuition tells me that if one is close enough to more or less make eye contact - then that's potentially too close. Obviously it's a 'grey area' and there would naturally be exceptions and numerous extenuating circumstances.

The documentary "Grizzly Man" starkly illustrates what happens when a human (by the devastation of mental illness) loses the capacity to discern what is 'too close.'

I appreciate Tony's reminder that the animal's protection is a big part of the equation. While in Kenya and Tanzania some years back, I saw blatant disregard for this side of things.

It's a tough situation for all concerned when affluent visitors hire vehicles and driver guides for the express purpose of getting close to the wildlife. The guide knows, for example, if he can find a mother Chetah with cubs the odds of a big tip go way up! I felt myself being sucked into that mentality as well. Fortunately my guide was knowlegable and ethical. He refused to drive in a circle all the way around the Chetah and her cubs so I could shoot from many angles, explaining that to do so could endanger the cubs. Should one of them wander off in the tall grass and become lost, the mother might be unable to track the cub down, it's trail and scent having been completely obliterated in 360 degrees.

James, I don't get the impression you were too close but your post offers the opportunity for a healthy discussion of the topic. I note from the EXIF data you were shooting at 400mm with a Canon 20D. From that info we can get a sense of how far away you actually were (I'm also assuming you cropped the full image quite a bit to get the compositions above.)

Again, these are wonderful images and, in my view, totally legit. However, I'm open to being educated on the subject.

Denali National Park says 400 yds is as close as you get to bears. Seeing how bears are unpredictible and individualistic, each person has to make up his own mind about what is too close. These bears can run 35 MPH going uphill, downhill and around the hill. It is not recommended that you shoot a bear closer than 75 yards because at a full run, he can be on you and causing you great harm before he falls dead. When I photograph bears, besides my camera equipment, I also have a .375 H&H magnum rifle for self protection. I have seen bears charge for no reason. I have never shot a bear for protection, but I know at least 2 dozen people who have. The last person I personally know that shot a bear for protection spent 6 months in the hospital getting put back together. The bear did that much damage AFTER he was shot with a fatal shot, but before the bear fell dead. The bear fell dead on this person. It was an unprovoked charge from about 35 yards.

Not really saying James was too close, It just looked like it. Not sure how close James actually was when these shots were taken, saw that they were taken at 400mm and probably cropped too, I know the rule in Yellowstone is 100 yards, The speed of a grizzly is 35 mph approx. so it wouldn't take long for one to get to you even at 100 yards. I think it all depends on the situation, Are you standing right next to your car with the door open or did you walk out in the field to get closer? (Which I have seen people do) I am sure that if the Ranger felt there was any danger he would have made everyone get back in their vehicles. Love the upclose shots though, DAve