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Post by nikonbob on Jun 16, 2011 20:54:40 GMT -5
These are two of the more enjoyable sights we this last trip. The sow bears were out in full force with this years cubs. You won't find a more attentive/protective mother but then that is all what mothers do. This is one of the lesser known falls on I-84 about 1/2 hour east of Portland OR. Extremely easy access but still enjoyable. Bob
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mickeyobe
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Post by mickeyobe on Jun 17, 2011 1:08:18 GMT -5
Wonderful pictures, Bob.
I have never seen a brown coloured bear that wasn't a grizzly, only black bears. Like that agile fellow up in the tree.
But I really can't tell if they are grizzlies without seeing if there is a hump.
Mickey
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Post by nikonbob on Jun 17, 2011 6:37:33 GMT -5
Mickey
Thanks, I am not an expert on bears but I think this sow is just a colour variation of the black bear. I believe it is a sub specie known as the cinnamon bear.
Bob
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Post by Deleted on Jun 17, 2011 8:49:49 GMT -5
Great shot. You are right Bob. in this part of the world there is a brown variation of the black bear. A Grizzly is an entirely different animal--much larger with the hump, a flat snout and usually a lot more aggressive. Wouldn't want to be that close to a Grizzly sow and her cub.
Wayne
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Post by nikonbob on Jun 17, 2011 9:21:38 GMT -5
Wayne
Thanks, there have been occasional reports of cinnamon bears here in North Western Ontario but I have never seen one here. We did run into a Grizzly up near Jasper, first one I have seen in the Canadian Rockies, and it is indeed a different bear. I would swear that that Grizzly was at least 4 feet tall at the shoulder. An impressive bear but unfortunately no shot of it before it ambled off into the bush again. My wife and I often wondered how many visitors the the Parks in both Canada and the USA think every bear that is not black is a Griz. I have only seen Grizzlies one other time and that was years ago in Yellowstone. I don't think actual Grizzly sightings are that common and certainly not as common as see a Blackie.
Bob
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photax
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Post by photax on Jun 17, 2011 12:29:28 GMT -5
Hi Bob ! This is truly a fantastic photo ! It would fit perfectly in some National Geographic magazine . Your picture shows more bears than we have currently living in the wild here in Austria. There are, as is estimated, two, or even one ( brown bear ). I am glad you had a enjoyable tour. MIK
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Post by nikonbob on Jun 17, 2011 23:11:00 GMT -5
MIK Thanks, if you are short of bears you can always have some of ours. This guy wandered out, plopped himself down and had a feast of dandelions. He did not turn a hair as we rolled very slowly by in the car. Bob
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photax
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Post by photax on Jun 18, 2011 16:59:33 GMT -5
Hi Bob ! Thanks for your offer ! How much are the shipping and packaging costs ? I think the opportunity coming across a bear in the Austrian woods is smaller than winning the Lotto-jackpot. MIK
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daveh
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Post by daveh on Jul 1, 2011 15:35:38 GMT -5
Another thread I missed seeing. Spain has a fair population of bears (by Western European standards) in the mountains in the north west of the country. Nothing too sizeable mind.
One of the biggest wild life oddities is the group of wallabies that wander in Derbyshire. They were in a zoo which wasn't able to feed them when WWII was in progress so they were released to fend for themselves. Every winter, especially the bad winters, it was predicted that they would die out. I did hear last year the same being said. I haven't heard if the bounders are still there. I hope so.
Super photos. It is probably a good job they weren't grizzly otherwise you might have been an ex-Bob.
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Post by Deleted on Jul 1, 2011 17:31:09 GMT -5
It's worth of note that the scientific name of the Grizzly Bear is Ursus arctos horribilis. Many years ago, a writer friend of mine, the late Jack Olson, wrote a magazine article Night of the Grizzlies about two women, killed the same night by Grizzlies on opposite sides of a mountain in Glacier National Park in Montana. If you read that article it's sort of like reading about Great White Sharks--you will be very nervous about being where they might be.
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mickeyobe
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Post by mickeyobe on Jul 1, 2011 23:54:31 GMT -5
I have never seen a grizzly but black bears are quite common in cottage country.
Many areas of summer cottages require the owners to take their garbage to a dump. Garbage dumps seem to be favourite haunts of black bears. They also favour restaurants that store their exhausted cooking oil outside the premises. They love oil and fat and, indeed, relish any garbage.
Cottagers are well aware of the danger these bears pose and are always cautious when the cuddly creatures are present. Bears are dangerous animals and are even more so if they have cubs.
Mickey
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Post by nikonbob on Jul 2, 2011 6:27:45 GMT -5
Wayne and Mickey
As you both have said, bears can be very dangerous and having also grown up in an area where black bears are common I think the same way. Can you believe I was asked if we tracked those bears? I guess some people do but I prefer that they show themselves to me without tromping through the bush after them especially with cubs around. No I don't hand feed the bears as some idiots still do.
Dave
Yea, I have heard that the Europe black bear population has greatly declined over the years. Never knew about the wallabies in the wilds of Derbyshire. Those must make for a few what the ell was that moments.
Bob
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Post by nikonbob on Jul 3, 2011 23:29:54 GMT -5
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daveh
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Post by daveh on Jul 5, 2011 16:44:40 GMT -5
Bob, "Never underestimate any bear." I would go further and say "never underestimate any animal - or plant for that matter." Humans are. of course, the most unreliable animals of all.
While not the same scale, baboons can be a real problem to tourists in Africa. Because they have becomes used to being close to people in the safari lodges the baboons show no fear. Put a bag down and a baboon will make a smash and grab raid.
Anyway it's good that some are prepared to get some proper photos of bears where the bears should be - in the wild (rather than in a zoo).
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Post by nikonbob on Jul 5, 2011 22:25:19 GMT -5
Dave
You hit the nail on the head. Animals in National Parks, world wide, are habituated to humans and show no fear. Humans can be dumb and take this as a sign that they are somehow domesticated . Put the two conditions together and you have a recipe for disaster.
Bob
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