Grizzly Bear Series – Part 2, Stand Up!

We humans get tickled when an animal takes on what we normally consider a human characteristic. Here’s your gigantic word of the day: anthropomorphism. It means the attribution of human motivation, characteristics, or behavior to inanimate objects, animals, or natural phenomena. So when a big old grizzly rises from his usual stance of all four paws and stands up, you know that folks are delighted with the show and snapping their cameras lickety-split!

With a little luck, I was able to capture a few moments when grizzlies stood up for us! This furry one was quite a character and provided many glorious poses for us. (I am assuming that it was a female because I didn’t spot any “equipment”.) She strolled her way from upriver down to the viewing station. Right before she crossed the river, she stood up to see if the coast was clear from other bear threats.

The gal proceeded to thoroughly entertain us for about 20 nonstop minutes. It seemed like over an hour! This is the bear that I featured several months ago in a picture, showing her ready to chow down on a newly caught fish. Shortly after she finished her snack and failed an attempt to catch another fish, she stood up again! This time, the pose was on a rocky island and even included a slight leg raise! And the crowd went wild, LOL…

Are you wondering why bears sometimes stand up on their hind legs? Ah, it helps them get better views and smells! Grizzlies’ eyesight is about the equivalent of humans, but they can smell up to a mile away.

Here’s another bear that we saw fishing on an different day. He was getting ready to pounce on his prey in the shallow water. Check out those claws!

There’s more to show you, dear friends, so please come back to visit later on this week.