I will open this article with a warning and admission of my own ignorance. When dealing with wildlife you must understand that your experience will be different with every encounter and in every different location. The most important thing with wildlife photography is common sense. Common sense IS a sense – an intuition on animal mood and behavior.
It’s a common experience and understanding across all animal species – whether a bear, moose, bird, or even a human. Common sense is trusting your instincts. This is safe or this is unsafe. If I feel fear and act like prey I will be seen as prey. If I act as a threat, I will be perceived as a threat. Only put yourself in situations where you understand you can command your emotions to interact appropriately with the wildlife (or humans).
My ignorance is that I went into this experience as my first bear trip and while on this trip I learned how to interact with bears. Actually… I didn’t. I learned to interact with these bears, in this location, during this specific season, with a certain set of specific risks. Everything was specific to these parameters and if I didn’t pay attention to the bigger picture I would have habituated myself into building bad habits. The same behavior that I learned here could kill me anywhere else in the world.
Because of the weight of this, I’d like to start with the lesson before I share my story. When going into any environment here are some important questions to ask the local rangers or experts.
What animals might I encounter that I would be a threat to?
This is their home and we are entering as a guest. It’s their territory, feeding, breeding, and child rearing space. We pose the threat – not them.
What are the seasonal behaviors and risks that I should be aware of for the time of my travel?
During this trip it was breeding season for bears and moose had calves. Mamma moose were the biggest threat because they were likely to act aggressively to protect their young.
If I have an encounter, what is the appropriate response? Have they been habituated to any specific behavior with humans?
This is my ignorance from above. What I learned in one location was different in other areas. The appropriate response for the same species was different based on location.
If I am approached in a curious manner, is there anything I should be aware of?
To some animals, and in some spaces, they will approach you in curiosity. In Iceland I learned that when their arctic foxes are fed they will stop hunting and turn to humans as their food provider. There have been reports of photographers baiting animals with food in some of our national parks. Those animals have been put down for their habituated behavior to humans. Please deny your temptation to do it.
Are there any particular considerations I should consider for making photographs?
Often my best tips come from park rangers and the local wildlife experts. They have their job because they love the place. I have never heard a ranger say it’s because of the pay! For a full list of my recommended questions check out my website, www.pauliseverywhere.com I’ll be posting a blog on this soon.
Squirrel! Not an actual squirrel – they nicknamed this bear Squirrel for his squirelly looking face as a cub. He was 50 feet out, walking on the trail straight towards me. 600-800 lbs, depending on who you asked, and a 100-400mm lens the only thing between us. I kneeled down in the mud as the group pushed up against my back increasing our overall perceived size.
40 feet. 30. 20. I keep shooting. He’s looking right at me. 15 ft, he veers into the sedge. He passes within 10 feet and proceeds to walk around the group, disappearing into the higher grasses behind us and plopping himself into a wallow 15 feet away. We hear splashing and then from the opposite direction another bear approaches.
Squirrel gets out of the water. This darker bear walks right up to him – another male – and roars directly into his face just inches away. The group is silent in anticipation. ROOOOOAAAAAAARRRRRRR. Again. I can’t believe I’m going to see a bear fight from this close. ROOOOOAAAAAAARRRRRRR. Challenge denied, it is nap time. Squirrel lays down unbothered. The other bear uses one of the trees to satisfy some itches and exhibits his massive size as he towers over the sedge line on his hind legs.
I don’t blame Squirrel… the 45 minutes he just spent mating tired me out and I was just watching. After the hour-long delay we made it back to camp without any other encounters. Day 1, massive success and the craziest encounter to finish it off.
The experience I describe here is not just special – it is unique. If you go elsewhere the habituated bear behavior will likely be different and not allow this type of opportunity. I was on a 4 day permit in a remote area of Alaska only accessible via sea plane. In this sanctuary they’ve spent over 50 years interacting with the bears and it is the only place I know of where the rule (and expected behavior) is to stand your ground when a brown bear approaches. The adventure began much earlier, though.
When I found out I had this opportunity I looked into flights. Unfortunately I dialed in at the exact weight required for a seat on a sea plane. That weight was supposed to include my camping gear, food, clothing, and all of my camera gear. I streamlined all of my camp gear trading in what I had for lighter gear and set out on a mission. I knew that EVERY pound I lost meant more camera gear I could bring. In the 3 months I had, I dropped 30lbs, begged passengers for space poundage, and was even able to pack in a dozen eggs to supplement my freeze dried meals.
Our arrival was greeted by a mom and cub brown bear lounging on the beach. Pitch tents, ranger orientation, and I was home – not just home for the days I was there but home in a way that we all know in our hearts. This place connected me to the lost part of myself, the animal nature that thrives in the wilderness.
For four full days we’d venture out in weather ranging from heat levels causing heat distortion to frigid temperatures demanding all my layers. My new rain gear held up but the eagles suffered the drenching I avoided. We hiked through muddy marshes, waded through creeks, and avoided heart attack hill by taking the double bypass carving up to waterfalls where we watched the bears fish, fight, mate, and sleep.
Reflecting, it all seems a blur. And I never thought that 3 hours of watching bears splash in the water practicing fishing would come to a point that I’d stop shooting but eventually I laid my camera down and the magical moment blended into a new normal. And from this new normal I began creating even better images.
I started noticing the shots, not the bears. I began composing them within the landscape – or waiting for them to cross into the right area. At times, I’d abandon the bears from my field of view altogether for the opportunity of something else. Ironically – my best shot of the trip happened when I chose to ignore a mom and cub clamming to capture an eagle at the coincidental moment that they got attacked by another eagle. Magical moments began presenting themselves when I wasn’t obsessed with “getting my bear photos.”
We live in a magical world with so much to offer and even in this remote destination with incredible creatures the same truths still stood clear – the reality of an experience is better than what the mind wants to make of it.
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