American Black Bear - Ursus americanus - In Memory

Paul B Jones
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American Black Bear - Ursus americanus - In Memory
American Black Bear - Ursus americanus - In Memory

In our week-long June tour through Waterton Lakes, Banff and Jasper National Parks in the Canadian Rockies we had 36 bear sightings - 32 Black Bears and 4 Grizzlies - all from our vehicle. At this time of year they are drawn to roadsides to feed on dandelions and other lush vegetation that grows in the disturbed ground. At the beginning of July they head to higher country and are less easy to see.

The bears are fairly oblivious to humans. If you stay at a safe distance in your vehicle they essentially ignore you, feeding continuously on plant life in a not particularly photogenic way.

This one was photographed along the Icefields Parkway in Jasper National Park. We watched it for five minutes or so with a group of other cars. Then it disappeared back into the brush away from us and I put the camera down. As we pulled out to leave, the bear decided to cross to our side of the road about 100 metres behind us. My friend said "the bear is going to get killed, don't look". As he said that I was already checking the rear view mirror and watched as the bear walked under a passing transport truck and was crushed in a pile of bloody, broken debris, a horrible sight. It died instantly and had no cubs but the shock is still with me.

Perhaps the speed limit should be lower on the parkway, or enforced better. Maybe the truck should have slowed down when it saw cars pulled over (always a sign of wildlife). Did our photography in some way change the animal's behaviour?

I was going to delete the pictures of the bear but decided to save this one as a record of the event, a token of the animal's life and a reminder of our responsibilities.

800mm f5.6 Canon Lens

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Taken on: June 14, 2012
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Sets appears in:   • Western Canada Wildlife   
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Camera: Canon EOS-1D Mark IV, f/5.6, 1/320 sec, 800mm, ISO 640 (more info) (hide info)
Camera: Canon EOS-1D Mark IV
Lens: EF800mm f/5.6L IS USM
Aperture: f/5.6
Exposure Time: 0.003 sec (1/320)
Focal Length: 800mm
ISO: 640
Exposure Bias: -2/3 EV
Flash: No Flash
Exposure Program: Aperture-priority AE
Exposure Mode: Auto
Metering Mode: Multi-segment
White Balance: Auto
Color Space: Uncalibrated
Software: Adobe Photoshop Lightroom 3.6 (Macintosh)
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