Bear Species and Subspecies

[brotherbear]

Alaskan Peninsula Grizzly ( Ursus arctos horribilis )... http://www.atlasomega.com/2010/09/photog...of-katmai/ 
 
I love the fact that I can say I’ve been 6 feet away from a 1000+ pound wild grizzly bear with nothing separating us but a two foot stream bank. This, to state the obvious, focuses one’s mind (and distresses ones parents when they hear about it after the fact). I had this, and many other close encounters with grizzly bears in the 8 days I spent photographing them in Kukak Bay, part of Alaska’s Katmai National Park and Preserve.

Kukak Bay

See the area on a map.

For a few months each summer the coast of Katmai is home to one of the densest populations of bears on the planet. Backed by the volcanoes of the Kejuik Range to the north and the Shelikof Strait and Kodiak Island to the south, Kukak Bay is one of the many bays punctuating the Katmai coast, and it abounds with the resources that make supporting such a high number of bears possible: clams, sedge grass, and, most importantly, numerous salmon streams.

This superabundance of food is also what makes it (relatively) safe to be in such close proximity to these large bears. With so much food available there is little reason to wonder what the tall skinny animals that move around in groups taste like. That’s not to say there is no danger. The next bay to the south of Kukak Bay is Kaflia Bay, the “Grizzly Maze” where Timothy Treadwell and his girlfriend were killed and eaten by a grizzly bear in 2003 (as described in the 2005 documentary Grizzly Man).

In addition to the bears, Kukak bay is also home to hundreds of sea otters and harbor seals plus breeding colonies of horned puffins and black-legged kittiwakes. There seemed to be a bald eagle nest on every seastack as well.

There is confusion on whether to call these bears grizzly bears or brown bears. Some sources define a grizzly as any brown bear in North America that lives more than a hundred miles from the coast, others conflate the label grizzly as any brown bear in North America (as opposed to the brown bear in Eurasia). I’ve decided to use the term grizzly for this article because when talking to people about my trip, no one ever asked me what a grizzly bear was, while I had a few people ask me if a brown bear was the same as a grizzly when I used that term in conversations.

Regardless of which label you prefer to use the bears of Katmai are giants of their kind. Males can reach a weight of 1500 pounds and stand 8 feet tall when rearing on their hind legs. The females average 35% smaller but are still quite imposing. Even with this bulk grizzlies can sprint at up to 35mph. 

The ecology of Kukak Bay and the feeding habits of the bears are dictated by the tides, which are the second most extreme in North America. At low tide extensive tidal flats are exposed allowing the bears to dig for clams. Low tide can also strand salmon and other fish in shallow pools that the bears are quick to notice. As the tide comes in the bears move back into a large area of sedges that fringe the area between the ocean and the brush-covered hills that mark the beginning of the Kejuik Mountains. These sedges are high in protein and provide the bulk of the bears diet early in the summer before the salmon runs begin. At high tide the streams become too deep for fishing and the bears retire into the bush and are not as active. It is also more difficult for humans to get around as most of the bear trails (which are what we use to get around) are underwater, and those that remain are being used by the bears. High tide is better spent out on the bay looking for otters, eagles and the other wildlife that calls the Kukak Bay home. 
 
Cutting through the coastal plains are numerous small streams. These streams are not very long but their upper reaches are used by numerous species of salmon as spawning grounds. As the tide drops bears return to the sedge flats and the banks of these streams to hunt for salmon. Consequently, both the highest density of bears, and the most action is found along these streams, and this is where you will be spending most of your time while photographing. The most bears I counted at once was 12. 



One important difference between photographing grizzly bears versus most other wildlife photography is that you want the bears to see you. Surprising them or hiding is a bad idea. Another difference, again for safety reasons, is that you’ll be in a group of 5-7 people. A group is much more intimidating than a single human alone. This means that you’ll need to cooperate when setting up tripods so that fields of view are not compromised. Remember that the bears movements are dictated by the tide. Don’t setup your camera for where the bears are when you arrive, set up so that you’re ready to shoot in the place where the action will be once the salmon start to run up the streams.



In general you’ll want your tripod setup without the legs extended as you’ll most likely be a few feet above the level of the river, and you’ll want to be shooting on the same level as the bears, not looking down on them. Even better is if you flatten the legs completely so that you’re lying on the ground, but this may not be possible if there is vegetation between you and the bears.



Being low will also have a positive effect on the backgrounds in your shot, especially when using wide apertures. But always be ready to stand up and shoot if something happens in the distance. Your tripod is adjustable for a reason, make the most of it. 



One last piece of advice is not to get sucked into just using your telephoto lens. Don’t forget to use wider lenses to capture the bears in their environment. Don’t let the majestic glacier-clad peaks in the background go to waste.



Getting The Shot | Bear Behaviors



Fishing – this is iconic behavior everyone one wants to see. It’s explosive, violent and can last for five seconds or five minutes over which time the bear may sprint back and forth across hundreds of yards of ground. The bears can go from lying in the grass to running flat out in a couple heartbeats and you need to be ready for this change. The bears keyed on the splashes the salmon made on the water’s surface as they made their way upstream, you should listen for this cue as well.


The strategy I evolved after a couple days shooting was to have aperture priority mode on my camera always set to my widest aperture (f/4 in my case) to maximize my shutter speed. This allowed me to use shutter priority and manual modes for shots of bears while they were resting or grazing and then instantly switch over to the fastest shutter speed possible in the available light if any fishing began. I could then switch back to manual or shutter priority mode during a lull in the action if I wanted a specific shutter speed. I found 1/1000 to be the absolute minimum shutter speed necessary to freeze both the movement of the bear and the water spraying around it, with 1/1600 or 1/2000 even better options. Shutter speeds faster than this were rarely possible on the mostly overcast days, but go for it if the light allows. 
 
The same rules apply for fights between the bears – fast shutter speads and wide apertures, but unlike fishing you’ll be able to predict when a fight may occur. It’s simple really, any time two bears are in close proximity there are only two possible outcomes: one will give way to the more dominant bear, or a fight will break out. Adjust your tripod and shooting mode any time you see that two bears will cross paths. While most of the time nothing will happen, you’ll regret it if you get lazy and consequently miss a brawl.Another great time a fight is likely to occur is after a bear successfully catches a salmon. Others bears come running at the sound of bear charging through the water after a fish, and it is quite common for larger, more dominant bears to attempt to steal a kill. Just because the fish has been caught doesn’t mean the action is over. 



Another great time for photography is when a mother and her cubs are on the scene. I’ve always read that being near a bear cub is a really, really, bad idea, but there were numerous times when a mother bear brought her cubs quite close to us. It seemed to me that the mother would use our group as a buffer or shield from the other bears. While I don’t have any evidence to back this up besides my own observations, there is good reason to think this may be the case, as male grizzlies routinely kill cubs to bring the mother back into estrus. The most memorable example of this occurred when a female caught a salmon, and then ran straight at us with her clubs close behind. She stopped about 60 feet away to bolt down the fish. As soon as she finished eating her three cubs joined her and began nursing. This was the only time I can recall a smaller bear not having to fight for it’s catch when there were other larger bears in the area.


As soon as she finished eating her catch her three cubs joined her and began braying, a sound that increased in both volume and frequency until mom rolled on her back and began nursing them. Mothers and cubs will be your only chance to capture the more intimate moments in a bears life. They are always in close proximity to each other so be on the lookout for those small special moments of interaction. You’re biggest problem in getting these shots will not be lack of opportunity, but rather that they never all seem to want to “pose” at the same time. I have many, many shots of a mother and cub looking at the camera with the second cub with it’s head buried in the grass, or two cubs playing in the foreground with the mother’s ass providing a not-so-appealing background. Be patient and be quick with the shutter during the fleeting moments when all involved are at their photogenic best. 
 
  

*This image is copyright of its original author

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