Grizzly

Now and then, I think photography would be a lot easier if I shortened my list of photography subjects that I like to take pictures of. I would have a lot less to carry if I just took landscape pictures or just flowers. Or maybe just take pictures of birds; I can find them year-round. Or how about just predators? I can spend a lot more time watching out for them and getting better pictures with more opportunities. But I would be tired of sitting on my butt while waiting.

Over the last number of years, more of my free time has been spent focusing on things close to where I live and learning even more about the nature that is found within this place. Occurring naturally as I started realizing what I wanted to read, listen to, and watch documentaries happened to be about the area and species I’m directly familiar with. In this small part of the world, which is not that small, there is so much to see and learn. Just yesterday, I started reading “Grizzly Bear Science and the Art of a Wilderness Life” by Bruce McLellan. Even after reading the first couple of chapters last evening, I learned something new about this big guy and all the other bears like him.

Life is a lot easier when you know what you like and, just as important, what you don’t. But you still want to be challenged in life, both physically and mentally. Mentally, there is so much to learn about the subjects I like to take pictures of. There is no magic camera that can replace learning. Not only do I get to challenge myself on getting better pictures of the various subjects but I also learn how they are all connected. As for the physical part, what better way to stay active and healthy than to keep getting out there to enjoy nature and get pictures of all the moments I come across.

Now, regarding this picture. Before anyone asks if this grizzly, M122, is still up. This last fall, after spending a lot of time outdoors exploring, I was able to see him soon after one of our few snowfalls. It was in the second half of November, and I think a few days later he called it a season. For the last several years in the Bow Valley, the bear season starts when he wakes up and finishes when he goes to bed. If that pattern continues, the next bear season will start in a few months.

Grizzly

Dandelions grow from seeds that have germinated, after remaining in the seeding stage for 8 to 15 weeks. As the plants grow up from the ground, the roots go deeper into the ground. The plant grows leaves that are between 9 to 30 centimeters long, the roots can be 18 to 54 cm long underground. The bud will sprout from the upper part of the roots. The flower can bloom during all of the growing season, but tends to bloom most often in spring in The Rockies. The flowers will open and close depending on the weather. Each plant can produce up to 12 flowers each year. With each flower producing 174 seeds, one plant can produce over 2,000 seeds. On an acre of land, 240 million seeds could be produced annually. Each seed comes with its own “helicopters”, called the Pappus. The seeds spread by the wind and by all of us who have blown on them. The seeds that find a sunny area will grow into a new dandelion. But for some dandelions, the ending is different.

Grizzly

I got this picture of the well-known larger male (M122) grizzly in November. Whenever I see the image, a lot of things go through my head, far beyond the morning I got the picture. From the first time I saw him many years ago, to all the times since. He’s no longer the dominant male grizzly he used to be, that should not be a surprise. The average male grizzly lives into their mid 20s, M122 is about 22/23 years of age. The last few years, including this one, he has been seen with bad scars from his battles, on his body and most of all on his face.

This season was no different, with his encounters with males and few with females. After one battle he hung around a meadow for a few days, waiting to recover and be on the move again. It’s the life of a dominant male, always on the move from the time he wakes up from his deep winter sleep to the day he is done for the season. M122 does not want to move into the background and take it easy for his last few years, we figure on his last day he will go out fighting. Looking closely, you can see some of the scars from this year. 

Over the years I have seen him a number of times, each one more interesting than the last. One of my favorite encounters was this summer. I was driving into Kootenay NP, chasing a beautiful rainbow. Parking lot for one of the trailheads was coming up, and I was going to pull in there and take a picture of the rainbow. I parked the car and stepped out with the camera in my hands under the falling rain.  As soon as I looked toward the start of the trail, M122 was coming onto the parking lot. He was less than ten meters from me, he looked toward me as I got back into the car. I changed my lens, lowered the window and took his pictures as he ate berries. He was making his way deeper into the Kootenay NP along the road.

I got back into the car and drove in the same direction, I passed him as he was moving and grazing. About a km ahead there was a better spot for the rainbow that was still in the sky. The rainbow lasted for 15 to 20 minutes, getting more than a few pictures. I sat back and removed the water from my equipment as I watched for the bear that was moving in my direction.  I saw the shrubs move, he was moving at a good speed and no one else was the wiser. With the lack of winter coat in the middle of the summer, you could see more of the battle scars he was carrying. He comes out of the shrubs, onto a small open space. Like a happy cub, he hopped/trotted across it. He was having fun. I smiled as he reached the other end, he slowed down and walked into the shrubs. Then into the woods behind, making his way to his next adventure.

Grizzly

When going for a hike, the body gets to decide when it's enough. The mind tends to get one in trouble. For me the right length for a hike is where I can still follow through with the plans for the following day. For this hike I hit the road as soon as daylight showed up. About a kilometer in, I was off the road to check what was happening along the river. When the final destination is not that important, going from A to B as fast as I can is also not that important. It’s more like Billy in the Family Circus, always taking the long way.

About 5 kilometers in, I wandered away from the road toward the river again. Among other things I saw a day old grizzly bear tracks in the snow, heading in the same direction as I. Got back on the road, taking pictures along the way. Two kilometers later I see more grizzly tracks, this time on the road, clearly visible in the light fallen snow from the night before. Tracks were the same size as before, of a large grizzly, but these were only a few hours old. The bear was wandering on the road before going in the direction as I. Not far from the road, it rubbed on a tree before moving farther away. From there I decided to stay on the road as the walk continued. I was getting warm, another layer came off and I kept the camera in my hands after trying to take a few pictures of chickadees I came across. 

I was about a kilometer from the last track’s sighting, 60 to 70 meters in front of me a large grizzly bear popped onto the road, one paw at a time from the left side. It was M136, or better known by his street name, “split-lip”. He looked toward me as I stood there, middle of the road with my right hand touching the bear spray container. After a quick look he started crossing the road and I relaxed. He stepped off the road and a few seconds later he started moving away from me. Soon he was out of my sight, I then walked to the spot where he got on the road to observe and take pictures of his fresh tracks. The legs were still feeling good, but this was a good time to listen to the mind. And it was telling me to head back.

Grizzly

According to researchers, play is a voluntary behaviour that is repeated several times and it does not seem to have an obvious function. For example, bear cub running, and not from a large male grizzly. We have seen dogs and cats playing and some of us have seen wildlife playing. Just have to pop onto your computer and it does not take long to find a video of bear cubs playing for example. I have seen the behaviour with my own eyes of four month old cubs to a 22-year-old male grizzly playing. Birds have been observed playing, reptiles and the list increases as more studies are conducted. The challenge seems to be trying to find the reasoning behind it, what are the benefits of using all that energy for playing. 

One theory is it may increase a brain’s functionality, helping increase the number of neuron connections. Which in turn can help the animals anything they do, hunting, mating, etc…, increasing the chance of surviving in the wild. 

But when I saw this cub and his mother playing with each other, it was easier to see for those of us lucky enough to observe bears a number of times. I was not thinking why, all I could do was smile and remember to take a few pictures. It was one of my favourite moments watching them take turns chasing each other.

Grizzly

If I have counted the in and out of focus buffaloberries (Shepherdia canadensis) in this picture, there are 10.4 calories worth in the image. The average buffaloberry has .2 calories worth of energy in them. With a great crop this year and thanks to slow arrival of fall temperatures, the berries are still clinging on to the plant. The buffaloberries have been a very important source of food for the bears this season. Putting on weight to survive the winter and hopefully pregnant females will be giving birth to lots of cubs in the dens this January. 

With so little amount of calories per berry, it becomes a number game for the bears. an adult grizzly like this male can put down 200,000 berries a day. That's about 40,000 calories per day. Translating that for chocoholic, that's like eating 75 of one of my favourite chocolate bars a day. The answer is no for those of you thinking the question. I have not tried eating 75 bars in a 24 hour period, unless dreaming counts. 

Back to the berries. Even if you have a liking to raw buffaloberries, I would avoid copying the bears. The berries have a substance called saponin, which your digestive system will have an issue with.

Grizzly

Why did the grizzly cross the road? Joke aside, in regards to this adult male grizzly, why did he show up in the front country. He might have crossed valleys, passes and more to get where he was spotted in the Bow Valley one evening. Eating berries, which at least in the front country, are everywhere. Which is very good news for the two species of bear and all those other members of the wildlife who consume berries.

Every season few bears get spotted in the front country that did not or do not call it home. Often during mating season large males show up looking for mates, this year was no exception. I saw one very large male who I had not seen before, courting a female that spends her time between the front and back country. 

During the berry season, bears are willing to travel to get the calories they need to survive the coming winter. Perhaps the valley he calls home, the berry crop there is not as good, so in search for food could have led him into the Bow Valley. With plenty of food for a number of weeks, its worth for this bear to be in an unfamiliar land, avoiding larger males. Just so he can put on weight for the deep sleep, he will go into this fall.

Or, he could have been looking for a new home, a place where making a living is easier than where he’s from. Time may provide some answers or it may not, nature is full of mysteries. For now, he’s a healthy bear, with no visible battle scars and is getting lots to eat. 

Grizzly

Most people who have seen a grizzly, usually see them eating in a field or on the side of a road. And for this reason most of us have this unrealistic image of a grizzly bear as to what it does when not eating.  Even those studying grizzlies or guiding in area where grizzlies are frequently spotted, don’t know everything about a grizzly. They know lots, more than most of us, but only when we start putting our collective knowledge together we start getting an understanding who they are. Even then, these apex predators are full of surprises. 

 M136, shown in the image, has been going after grizzly female’s cubs for the last few years, this year he had success. Killing one of the two and half year-old cubs and them consuming it over two days. A colleague could not see but could hear from his truck the bones of the cubs being crushed as it was being eaten. M136 was not planning to leave behind much, even going after a Common Raven, who had grabbed a piece of meat.

M136 has gone after other cubs successfully and including killing and eating a sub-adult grizzly few years back. What remained of the sub-adult grizzly was found including the GPS collar he was wearing and M136 was not far from the scene. Some of the reasons for this behaviour by grizzlies and other species are to reduce competition for mating and for food.

 The day I got this picture of “split-lip”, his street name. An injury he got when he was a young adult during a fight with another grizzly. I was in the middle of a parking lot and scanning way up with my camera for Mountain Goats. When I heard some sounds across the parking lot in the grass, it was M136 eating dandelions. He took a quick look at me and continued with his dinner. Perfect, he knew I was in the area and was not concerned with me. My goal became not to have him be concerned about me and forget about looking for goats. I got a few images of him, including this one, with him leaving behind his business card as he crossed the parking lot to consume more dandelions.

Grizzly

It seems the cub is day dreaming as its mother is busy eating.

Grizzly

A grizzly bear cub might be getting one of the richest mother’s milk, if not the richest. As soon as the cubs are born, looking very little like the cubs we may see six months later when then pop out of the den with their mother leading. The little cub is a fraction of their mom’s weight when born, less than one percent of their mother’s weight. The cubs weight about half a pound when born. Comparing that to us humans, the average baby is about seven percent of their mom’s weight. So, it’s important that the cubs have access to this rich milk to get ready when they pop out of the den six months later. Even though the calendar says spring, as many of you know, in the mountains we can be dealing with winter like weather in May and early June. Come to think of it. We can be dealing with winter anytime of the year in the Canadian Rockies.

A mother bear has six nipples. The two nipples closest to the pelvis get used first and as the cubs grow, they nurse from the top four. The mother bear may stop the milk production in the bottom two nipples. While in the den, the grizzly is using up all the fat she put on before denning to help produce the milk her cubs need. When the mother grizzly exits the den with her cubs, it is important for her to find food so she can continue producing milk during the approaching peak lactation period, June and July. Each one of the cubs during this time will end up consuming just under 1.5 liters of milk per day. As the cub grows, mother’s milk plays a smaller role in its overall diet, but one role never gets less important. The bond the mother forms with her cub when nursing.