Black Bear at Cades Cove

I won’t even ASK how you got this. WOW :)

wow what a day out you had, fab picture dawn

Thanks all. Yes it was an incredible day with all the animals and scenery there.

Micki, this bear was just at the side of the road!

Fabulous photo! My bear photos end up being dots in the brush, lol. What state was this?

Thank you Stephanie. This was at Cades Cove, Great Smoky Mountains National Park, in TN.

Great shot, he looks like a really big one.

Thanks Marvin. He was big enough, but I have not seen many black bears so I couldn’t say.

I envy you seeing bears in the wild! I’m not even sure I’ve ever seen a bear like this! Great natural capture!

Thank you Krys. This was my first wild bear too.

Beautiful capture.

Thank you Linda.

Oh cool…I’ve always wanted to see a bear in the wild…like this..not as it’s chasing me! :) Lucky you!

(By the way, when you respond to people’s comments, hit the reply tab next to their comment, then they will know that you’ve written. Otherwise they will not know unless they happen to come back for another look!)

How did I miss this one? He is so beautiful. Great capture!

Never been lucky enough to see a black bear at Cades Cove. What an exciting moment for you to be able to capture the big guy for us to see. Great job!

How beautiful! (we only see them here in the Zoo :)

excellent shot,a Smoky Mountain classic

totally awesome find john!!! looks great with that grass around it also, great job handling that lighting!

Geeeeze John…I live in grizzly bear country and I’m still yet to see a bear this close (although I think I heard one 2 nights ago in my backyard while doing night shots, eeeks), lol…great shot and timing!

Great shot!! Cades Cove is my favorite place,its just too beautiful for words!!

You’ll have a tough time getting a better bear shot than this one John. Congratulations, it looks like you made the most of your trip!

What an amazing shot! I am both happy for you and extremely jealous of this image! I have seen a total of 11 bears in the park in a total of 4 days visits. None of my bear shots are this good! I guess it’s a combination of my being nervous and trying to watch out for the bears proximity to me and their constant movement. I can never get them to be still. This last time I thought she was going deep in the woods and she turned and ran under the barbed wire fence in front of me. It pays to be cautious and keep your eyes open.

Thank you very much Lisa. I was never far from the car and the bear never showed me the least interest, thankfully. Otherwise I’d have dark blurs for images!

He is a beauty. Looks well-fed anD slick. One must always use caution around bears, no matter how “cute” they appear to be. :)This goes immediately into my collection of favorites. Wonderful work.

I have really wanted a picture of a bear. I was walking this weekend and saw a sign warning people about a bear and moutain lion in the area.You got a great shot of this one. Nicely done.

Great image. I like the way you framed him with the tree.

Nice shot!!!

Fantastic shot of this beautiful animal. We live in Western North Carolina, but have never been to Cades Cove even though I hear it is gorgeous as your picture proves!