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Mama Grizzly
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| [Note Guidelines] Photographer's Note |
We had just come over Bow Pass on the Icefields Parkway when we came upon a group of gawkers parked along the roadway. Looking to see what the excitement was about I spot this Mama Grizzly and her 2 cubs (see cubs in Work Shop photo) no more than 75 feet from the pavement feeding in the thick low brush.
I was surprised to see so many folks outside their autos taking pictures. Like a Lemming I had to get in on the fun and get a few shots. With a mix of fear and excitement I crossed the road checking to see how far the car would be if I had to run for it while thinking the odds of me being bear lunch were less with so many others along the road. At the same time I felt guilty about the foolish act and putting the bear in some danger as well. The deed is done and here is the result. As you can see the technical aspects are a bit lacking.
The grizzly bear, sometimes called the silvertip bear, is a powerful brownish-yellow bear that lives in the uplands of western North America. It has traditionally been treated as a subspecies, Ursus arctos horribilis, of the brown bear living in North America.
Grizzly bears reach weights of 180–680 kilograms (400–1,500 pounds) and stand 2.44 m (8 feet) tall on its hind legs.; the male is on average 1.8 times as heavy as the female, an example of sexual dimorphism. This dimorphism suggests that size is an important factor in the male's ability to successfully compete for and attract breeding opportunities.
Their coloring ranges widely across geographic areas, from blond to deep brown or black. These differences, once attributed to subspeciation, are now thought to be primarily due to the different environments these bears inhabit, particularly with regard to diet and temperature.
The grizzly has a large hump over the shoulders which is a muscle mass used to power the forelimbs in digging. The head is large and round with a concave facial profile. In spite of their massive size, these bears can run at speeds of up to fifty-five kilometers per hour (thirty-five miles per hour).
Normally a solitary active animal, in coastal areas the grizzly congregates alongside streams and rivers during the salmon spawn. Every other year females (sows) produce one to four young (most commonly two) which are small and weigh only about 500 grams (one pound). Sows are very protective of their offspring.
The current range of the grizzly bear extends from Alaska, south through much of Western Canada, and into portions of the Northwestern United States including Idaho, Montana, Washington and Wyoming, extending as far south as Yellowstone and Grand Teton National Parks, but is most commonly found in Canada. Its original range also included much of the Great Plains and the Southwestern states, but it has been extirpated in most of those areas.
ISO 100
F-Stop 5.6
Exp. 1/200 sec.
420 MM lens equivalent |
pvs, sranjan has marked this note useful
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- pvs
![Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Star Workshop Editor/Gold Note Writer [C: 1168 W: 261 N: 3035]](http://i1.treknature.com/misc/g-g-g.gif)
(13835) - [2007-08-24 12:06]
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Hi Richard,
A nice capture accompagnied with a nice note,yes it is very specisl to see this kind of animals in the wild,I was lucky enough to see the swedish brown bear a few months ago in the wild,tfs and have a nice weekend
Paul
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- Mana
![Gold Star Critiquer/Silver Workshop Editor/Gold Note Writer [C: 1899 W: 36 N: 5579]](http://i1.treknature.com/misc/g-s-g.gif)
(18518) - [2007-08-25 1:38]
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Hi Richard,
Wonderful shot of the Grizzly with such sharp details on its fur and nice colours. Great lighting and you have captured a fine pose in its natural habitat. How far were you - must be a scary scene. Excellent POV to portray it and very nicely composed. Kudos.
TFS.
Sumon
Hello Richard,
Good shot despite of fur wash out effect perse glare & elaborated photographer's note highlighting grizzly life :)
Regards-Dr Subhash Ranjan
