Grizzly Bear Series – Part 4, Strolling

My last post was a serious one, so let’s have a fun one for a little balance! It’s long overdue for a few more fuzzy-wuzzy bear pictures! These are some of my favorite ones from our trip last year to the British Columbia wilderness, showing bears strolling around on their home turf.

This gorgeous one tumbled out from the tall grass to do little fishing.

While we were riding in the boat, the most common place to see them was wading right along the shoreline. Despite their size, it was surprising to see how effortlessly they moved.

This acrobatic fellow even did a balancing act for us on a fallen log. In addition to being nimble, these guys can move as fast as 30 miles per hour!

They were such remarkable creatures to watch, many with soulful faces. We had to constantly remind ourselves that these were wild bears and we were not at a zoo!

I have a funny story to tell about this last photo. Hubby and I were standing alongside the shoreline, patiently waiting for a bear sighting and chatting with our tour guide. We were standing on a well-worn path that runs parallel to the river, a bear path to be exact. We were keeping a sharp lookout along the path and also the streambed. I was facing them, looking at the trail and river behind them, and they were looking in the opposite direction.

After about an hour of quiet visiting and no signs of activity, all of a sudden I saw movement in the far distance. So I pointed over their shoulders and excitedly exclaimed, “There’s one!”

Now, my temperament is pretty laid back 99% of the time. But when I am excited, my voice goes up in tone and volume. Hubby knew that I had spotted a bear and correctly guessed that it was well off in the distance. He recognized it as my excited voice, not my scared voice.

However, it was immediately assumed by our tour guide, as indicated by his dinner-plate-size eyes, that there was a bear immediately behind them on the trail. While the poor fellow was about to have a heart attack, I was wondering why he abruptly had a frightened look on his face. I thought perhaps there was one that he spotted on the trail behind me!

The whole episode was quite comical and we really had good laugh that afternoon. Our guide forgave me for scaring the stuffing out of him, and I managed to stop hooting long enough to take the bear’s picture.