Curious Bear

[Mike Mancil]

I was hiking in the Smokies this week with my wife, daughter and grandkids when the 7 year old says, "Bear!!". Embarrassingly, the leader and protector, me, didn't see it first. It's not the greatest shot but at about 20 yards distance and 20 ft elevation above us, talking to the bear, shepherding the group and trying to get a few frames, I thought it turned out ok. The bear? He just thought we were boring.


Sony a6000, E PZ 18-105mm F4 G OSS, at f/5.6, 1/160 sec, ISO-3200, 105 mm, hand held.

 

[Ben Egbert]

I scarecly see bears here even though they are plentiful enough to warent bear warning signs. This is nice.

 

[AlanLichty]

Looks peaceful and non-threatening. Not a critter I have encountered in the NW - yet.

 

[JimFox]

This looks great Mike, and what a great experience for the kids to see in person. Though I will say from my experience in the Smokies, bears are as common there as deer would be to us out west, they seem to be everywhere.

 

[Mike Mancil]

I scarecly see bears here even though they are plentiful enough to warent bear warning signs. This is nice.

Looks peaceful and non-threatening. Not a critter I have encountered in the NW - yet.

I love old cabins. this is a good specimen. I like that lush green setting.

This looks great Mike, and what a great experience for the kids to see in person. Though I will say from my experience in the Smokies, bears are as common there as deer would be to us out west, they seem to be everywhere.

Very nice Mike! I like the tone and mood that you captured this in.
I remember seeing this when I was there, it was really cool. One of the things I liked about Smokey National Park was how they have maintained the old buildings, it's so cool not just to see them but to be able to walk among them.

Well maintained for its age. Interesting read on the wikipedia link.

Thanks guys. The Park is roughly 800+ square miles and has an estimated 1600 bears, so the density is such that bears should be seen frequently. However, due to Park Service efforts to keep people from feeding the bears and bears being pretty smart, they tend to stay away from tourist. I was surprised that this bear wasn't more wary, especially since it doesn't have any ear tags for each time they get in trouble for aggressive or overly familiar behavior. We were about a mile from the trailhead and with two children with me I was more cautious than I normally would be with just my wife there, but this guy was just curious.
Mike

 

[Douglas Sherman]

Great image, Mike.

 

[Mike Mancil]

Great image, Mike.

Thanks Doug!