Today's Photo: May 21th

Black Bear eating new buds in Alberta

This is one of my favorites, although people often ask for another of this series where the Black Bear is higher in the tree. I like this as well because it shows more of Mount Robson in the background. This was probably late May or June, 1996 or 97. I didn't have the best records back then, and date was not on the negative. I was driving up to Miette Springs just outside of Jasper, Alberta. My older daughter Erin was with me when we came across this Black Bear in a tree. He was eating all of the fresh new buds that were growing. He would eat everything within reach and then climb another couple of feet up the tree. The tree would sway when he climbed, but when he got where he wanted he just shifted his weight until the tree steadied -- then began eating again. We watched for an hour and a half until it started getting dark and the bear came down the tree. He looked at me -- for one more photo, then off he went into the woods. Wonderful experience that Erin and I got to share together (alone).