Our last post about Alaska left off with us joining the bear-viewing line-up of tourists/photographers and their guides. Sitting quietly on the river bank, we unpacked our own cameras and tripod for a day of watching and shooting images.
At first we divided our attention between a big lone bear upriver from us and a mother and cubs at the edge of the stream a little ways away.
The mother and cubs were steadily moving away, though, and the big lone bear was moving downstream towards us. Pretty soon he was only about 15 feet away and looking straight at us.
Then he came closer, and closer, still looking straight at us. He passed within 3 feet of us!
He was so close that I could see how his eyes were bloodshot from the brackish water. I could see individual hairs on his coat and no-see-um flies buzzing around his head. (They were buzzing around my head too, but I didn’t notice that!) Most impressive of all were his enormous claws, more than 4 inches long, curved, sharp, and gleaming with water droplets. My heart was pounding fast but I managed to keep completely still and silent. So did everyone else. Seth—nerves of steel—couldn’t get the whole bear in the frame of his 100mm lens.
But, just as Eric (the guide) had said, the bear didn’t perceive us as a threat and just continued downstream. Then we were treated to a tremendous display of powerful fishing. He would stand stock still staring into the water and then lunge, batting with his claws and plunging his jaws into the water to capture a salmon. He got one on his second try, not surprising if his girth was any indication of his fishing prowess. Carrying the severed fish in his mouth, he moved up the stream past us again, this time closer to the opposite bank.
Then came another one, taller and with longer legs and a narrower snout and an even more threatening look to his eyes and face. Heading downstream he passed a bit further away (maybe 6 feet?!) than the first bear. He put on an equally impressive display of lunging and pouncing, his body huge and powerful, sending the spray flying.
After about four tries, he landed his fish and came marching back upstream with it, right in front of us on the bank where we were sitting. He was so close I could see the mottled colors of the fish in his mouth. My heart was going fast again, but strangely enough I was actually getting used to it and wasn’t as scared as I’d first been.
More bears kept appearing as the morning wore on. The first two hung around, still fishing. Another stout one came down the middle of the stream, stopped on a gravel island and scratched his ear like a dog.
He had the most teddy-bearish face of all the bears, with a big snout, small ears, round head, and curious eyes. Our photos of him were some of my favorites, almost as if he was posing for them.
Two more materialized from the direction where we’d left our dinghy (hmmm…) and the flirting pair made a re-appearance.
After several hours, the guides decided to change location to give their clients different angles for their photos. Seth and I decided to say goodbye at that point, and Eric told us to stop by the tourist boats and say hello to the rest of the crew.
Eric had chosen a good moment to move his clients: the bears had all moved away from us and were busy fishing. There were no bears behind us, where we’d left our dinghy, so Seth and I moved slowly and quietly back towards it. We encountered no bears and no difficulties until we found how far the tide had come up. We had to clamber over some very big boulders where just a few hours before we’d walked along a mud beach. So I stayed with our cameras and Seth climbed over the rocks to get the dinghy and pick me up. It was much too difficult terrain for bears so I wasn’t worried—if they wanted to go that way they’d have to swim. Seth got the dinghy without mishap and we headed over to say hello to the two tourist boats. It was only about 2pm—what a morning!
May 31, 2018 at 18:39
Hello, I’m looking to make some t-shirts and was wondering if it was okay if I could use one of these photos and edit it (just take some of the background out of it) to make 2 shirts? I was wondering if whoever took these photos would be okay with that? Please let me know at your convenience. Thank you!
September 21, 2018 at 21:59
Hi Kevin,
Sorry not to have gotten back to you sooner – we were away from internet access sailing across the Pacific for the last few months!
All the photos on this website – including all of those of the Alaskan brown bears – are our own. We license them for publication, so if you are still interested in them, please let us know exactly which ones you’d like to use. We’d be fine with it as long as it is just for personal use and as long as you don’t plan to use them for print or online media. Thanks so much! Glad you like them!
All the best,
Ellen and Seth
P.S. Could we get a t-shirt? 🙂
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April 22, 2015 at 23:18
I’d missed this when you first put it up. Bears just a few feet away. Glad none of them was having a “BAD DAY!” Phew! Great to see the pics and great to read the story. Best, Dana
April 23, 2015 at 07:19
Glad you enjoyed the post! Yes, it was good all of them were well-fed and unconcerned, for sure!
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April 15, 2015 at 10:55
OMG! Amazing bear pics. And I liked it that the post was, or seemed ?, a bit longer than usual. I’m always sort of disappointed when it ends, which I suppose is a good sign!
April 15, 2015 at 11:31
Thanks so much! Great to hear you think the posts are too short!! That’s a great sign 🙂
April 15, 2015 at 06:35
Incredible – my heart is just pounding reading about the event and seeing your fabulous photos!
April 15, 2015 at 07:14
Thanks so much, Jackie!
April 14, 2015 at 14:23
Absolutely amazing! I thoroughly enjoyed this post — and your photos, Lord, it looks like they came straight from a National Geographic magazine. ~Jessie
April 14, 2015 at 15:39
Thanks so much, Jessie!! So glad you enjoyed it—I was thrilled with how the shots came out!!
April 14, 2015 at 13:38
Absolutely stunning photos! 3 feet away, my heart would be pounding too for sure! But what an experience, not everyone had a bear pass that close… 🙂 Great post!
April 14, 2015 at 15:38
It was definitely one of the most amazing experiences on the whole voyage! Thanks for reading 🙂
April 14, 2015 at 12:46
Fantastic photos! I’ve definitely never been that close to a bear.
April 14, 2015 at 15:37
Thanks, guys! It was super exciting, thankfully didn’t turn TOO exciting!
April 14, 2015 at 09:53
Wow that is soooo close! Your photos are amazing, what an incredible experience! 🙂
April 14, 2015 at 10:08
Thank, Viki! It was pretty close!!
April 14, 2015 at 09:50
Wow!
April 14, 2015 at 09:18
What a sensational post and brilliant photos! You must have been delighted!
April 14, 2015 at 10:06
Thanks! We sure were!!