" Facing Bears "
As you well know, there is a story behind every picture. Many a story Wildlife Photographers can share that will make your hair stand straight up! Well, one of my wildlife stories is about these two particular bears: I monitored the Legendary GRIZZLY BEAR 399-- a Bear from Grand Tetons National Park in the course of 4 years. When she first emerged from the woods with her 3 cubs it was a wonderful scene. I tracked this family every year for 6 months, from April through October and as the cubs were growing up I watched them get bigger and stronger. In the summer of 2008, momma bear separated from her cubs. It was finally the time for them to be on their own.
For a while, they roamed the woods of Grand Tetons on their own but still looking for mom and crying in the evenings, in alarm for their mother. It was sad hearing them cry for mom. But Nature is like that, and we have to accept it.
Time passed and they grew up. Then one of the male offspring from bear 399, the largest and most aggressive had to be relocated by the park's Rangers. The two other cubs remained together for a brief time and then they went their separate ways and were not seen for a while.
I began tracking them on my own as I knew their paths and on April of 2009 I struck lucky for I spotted both of them, together nonetheless. I've been known to be a troublemaker, since my early days at this Park for getting too close to the bears. Well this time was no different as I was about 20 feet away watching and taking images of them at play for about 30 minutes. They hugged and they tumbled down the fields and they stood up sensing and smelling my presence but they continued to play. As I watched, I felt they were a happy family once again.
Then in the summer of 2009 (the whole story can be found here:
a hunter killed a female with a gun (the female is smaller, in the article photo playing with a male). The article states that the hunter was not in danger at all.
Upon hearing the sad news, my heart broke and I cried. even today when I see this image I have tears in my eyes. We all know that bears are aggresive and dangerous in the wild but this particular bear family stole my heart and I can't accept the fact to this day, the she was killed...
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