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Tim Rucci | all galleries >> Wildlife >> Alaska 2010 > 40-12073 - Bears on the road
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27-JUL-2010

40-12073 - Bears on the road



Bears on the Road

On the way back to camp from the falls on Tuesday evening, we had hiked the trail from the falls that leads to this dirt road. As we approached a curve in the road, we saw these two grizzly bears come around the corner, walking in the opposite direction toward us. They were about 35 yards away when we first saw them. We calmly moved to the left edge of the road and talked to the bears to make sure they were aware of our presence, since startling a bear is the worst thing that can happen. They continued their route as we stood in the grass just off the left edge of the road. When they got almost directly across the road from us (about 20 feet away), they looked over at us then turned and went into the woods on the right side of the road. In the next photo, you can see how close, and how big these bears are. I could only fit one in the photo from this distance. The camera's autofocus recorded the distance of the bears in the next photo as 7.86 meters.




Canon EOS 40D ,Canon EF 70-200mm f/2.8L IS USM
1/500s f/6.3 at 105.0mm iso400 full exif

other sizes: small medium original auto
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Chasewilson08-Jun-2015 12:23
Wow, scary! So beautiful at the same time. Thankfully, I have never seen a bear this close in the wild. I have always wondered what I would do if I saw one of these things face to face. Do you know if there is animal removal for bears this big?http://pestfreeexterminating.com
ss 25-Aug-2010 21:16
I had a similar situation and was scared to death! I was alone. Nice shots!
Brad Claypole19-Aug-2010 01:52
WOW Think I may have crapped myself!
Shari Sommerfeld14-Aug-2010 20:57
I'm with you Sandi!!
Sandi Whitteker14-Aug-2010 02:22
What a thrill to see these two coming down the road. My camera would be shaking in my hands.