Black Bear

 

Black Bear

I have seen black bears in the woods, but have never been close enough to get a photo or two.  I photographed this one in the Calgary Zoo several in 2010.  To be honest, I normally don't like photographing animals in zoos, but when the enclosures are fairly large and the animals have room to move around a bit, I don't mind as much.

I would never get this close to a wild black bear!!

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Shubenacadie Wildlife Park 4

Shubenacadie Wildlife Park 4

We don't have skunks on the island of Newfoundland so I found it interesting to watch them during my visit to Shubenacadie Wildlife Park.

I included photos of a raccoon, an otter and a black bear looking out through the wire fence around their enclosures.  That's what I don't like about zoos and wildlife parks.  However, as I pointed out at the beginning of this series, I wouldn't get an opportunity to photograph these animals otherwise.

Bears

I have never seen a grizzly bear in the wild, but getting close to one in Calgary Zoo was not a problem. The glass viewing areas made it possible to make a few images of both types of bears.

The grizzly bear was wandering around its enclosure when stopped and looked directly at me. I saw the length of its claws and made a photograph of them - they could do a lot of damage I bet. A large black bear was hanging out near the glass viewing area in its enclosure and I was able to make a few images of that bear as well.

Seeing these bears made me realize how dangerous it would be to walk into one while hiking. The long claws of the grizzly helped reinforce that idea. Fortunately, where I hike here on the Avalon Peninsula, there are no grizzlies and black bears are fairly rare.

Several years ago, while hiking in Central Newfoundland, my nephew and I saw a black bear crossing the same large bog we were crossing. There was nowhere to hide so we stayed very quiet until the bear disappeared into the forest. We waited a while to make sure the bear was gone, After several minutes, we proceeded along our bearing, which took us in a different direction than the bear. We didn't see it again.

Z - Zoos

Today's photos were taken in Shubeneacadie Wildife Park, Nova Scotia in 2008. Years ago I refused to photograph animals that were locked in cages, however, these days most zoos have enclosures which are much bigger than the cages of the early 70s. When animals are close to the fences that keep them in (and keep visitors safe) the wire cannot be avoided. This was the first time I intentionally photographed animals so close to the fences.

The wolf shown in the first photo was walking around the enclosure close to the wire mesh. Even though I was making photos just a few feet away, it didn't acknowledge my presence. It was not a bit curious about me; probably because it sees so many people every day. The raccoon was staring at something and it also ignored me. The large black bear looked directly at me as I took this photo.

To be honest, I still hate to see animals "locked up", but I realize that these animals are there because they may have been injured in the wild and brought there to be saved. They cannot be released back to the wild for a number of reasons, one of which is that they now have no fear of humans.

We have no wolves or raccoons on the island of Newfoundland. We do have black bears and I have come close to one while hiking which made me very nervous. As much as I love photographing wildlife, I didn't want to get any closer to a wild black bear than I was. Zoos provide opportunities to get close to animals that most people would never see (or want to see) in the wild.