Finally had a few minutes to go through some more of my shots from last week at Katmai NP. I took the following shot just to show how many bears there were. There are nine in this frame and there were a total of 16 in view when I took the shot. Some of the less dominant bears fish further downstream and there were a couple visible in the bushes above the river sleeping off the heavy meal they just finished. None of the bears in this shot are the truly massive dominant males. These are your average bruins around 800lb (350kg) each.
In this next shot one of the big(over 1000lb) bruisers is in the frame. For reference the bear in the middle of these three is the same bear at middle top of frame in the previous shot(note the patterns of bald/molting patches in the fur). In the previous shot he is occupying the prime spot held by the larger bear in this shot.
The bear in the bottom of the previous frame occupied the same spot just downstream of that tree branch the entire time that I was there. He had an interesting method of fishing. I never saw him catch a fish but every time another bear caught one he would dash over and sit there woefully moaning while the other bear ate. His tactic worked as every once in a while one of the dominant bears would strip the prime cuts from a fish then drop it for this guy to finish. Here is "Panhandler" in action.
All of the bears carry many scars from disagreements like this.
Here is a little more artsy version of a group scene.
I'll post more detailed single bear shots after I do some more editing.
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In this next shot one of the big(over 1000lb) bruisers is in the frame. For reference the bear in the middle of these three is the same bear at middle top of frame in the previous shot(note the patterns of bald/molting patches in the fur). In the previous shot he is occupying the prime spot held by the larger bear in this shot.
Subscribe to see EXIF info for this image (if available)
The bear in the bottom of the previous frame occupied the same spot just downstream of that tree branch the entire time that I was there. He had an interesting method of fishing. I never saw him catch a fish but every time another bear caught one he would dash over and sit there woefully moaning while the other bear ate. His tactic worked as every once in a while one of the dominant bears would strip the prime cuts from a fish then drop it for this guy to finish. Here is "Panhandler" in action.
Subscribe to see EXIF info for this image (if available)
All of the bears carry many scars from disagreements like this.
Subscribe to see EXIF info for this image (if available)
Here is a little more artsy version of a group scene.
Subscribe to see EXIF info for this image (if available)
I'll post more detailed single bear shots after I do some more editing.
