Under a warm July morning sunshine, a mature Grizzly Bear sow can be seen grazing on grasses and wild flowers and pawing at the ground in search of insects. As I took some pics of her in the near distance, she slowly made her way closer towards me. With her ears set forward, she made eye contact a few times, and of the bears we had seen in Yellowstone, it was clear to me that this particular bear was not at all uncomfortable or nervous of the humans who lined the side of the road to view and take pics of her. I stood on the shoulder side of my truck and as she approached me closer, at about 106.6 meters ( 50 ft), I decided it best to take my camera off the tripod and slowly get back into my truck. I had the keys in the ignition incase I might have to get the window up quickly. She ended up approaching my truck and turning parallel to it so closely that I could only view half her body in my viewfinder. It was a thrill to watch this large sow go about her morning routine in search of food.

Grizzly bears, like most wild creatures search for foods that will quickly and easily satisfy their appetite. Their diet consists of vegetable matter including flowers, grasses, sedges, herbs, tubers,berries, nuts of all kinds, animal carcass, fish, small marine animals, ants and other insects, honey, elk, moose, calves, and other small animals such as ground squirrels and marmots. Because of their large size, grizzly bears regularly have a high caloric intake of food in order to maintain their size; they will eat up to 36 to 41 kilograms (80 to 90 pounds) of food per day. They are able to gain 11 to 23 kilograms (3 to 6 pounds) per day.

“PHOTO INFORMATION”

Taken in Yellowstone National Park on July 25/09 at 8:05 am.
Camera; Canon 40D
Lens; Canon EF 100-400 IS USM L lens.
Tripod; Manfrotto
Taken at; 1/1250’s at f/7.1, – 2/3 ev, 400 mm, man white balance, iso 800.
A little cropping and a slight use of simplify to add a slight painterly texture ( unlikely noticeable in Redbubble file sizes). No sharpening.