Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 2010/10/09

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Subject: [Leica] IMG: Blondie & BooBoo
From: wildlightphoto at earthlink.net (Doug Herr)
Date: Sat, 9 Oct 2010 17:57:27 -0400 (EDT)

I spent much of the last week near Lake Tahoe, at a creek where Kokanee 
Salmon were running upstream to spawn.  The local Black Bears had discovered 
the salmon run and were feasting on the fish to put on weight for their 
winter sleep.

The Black Bear (Ursus americanus) is the smallest of the bears typically 
found in North America, and despite its name its fur can be a variety of 
colors from black to almost white.  The Black Bear is less aggressive than 
the Grizzly Bear, and since the species evolved at a time when several large 
land predators such as Dire Wolf, Saber-tooth Cat and Grizzly Bear were 
preying on it, the Black Bear thinks of itself as a prey species.  The Black 
Bear is fully capable of inflicting serious injury to humans but because it 
thinks of itself as a prey species most often it will run rather than attack.

On several occasions during the week I encountered Blondie and BooBoo, 
mother and cub, and over the course of these encounters she learned that I 
was not interested in eating her or her cub, and I learned that as long as 
nobody threatened her cub she was no threat to people.

Blondie:
http://wildlightphoto.com/mammals/carnivores/L1490124.jpg
http://wildlightphoto.com/mammals/carnivores/L1490216.jpg
http://wildlightphoto.com/mammals/carnivores/L1490221.jpg
http://wildlightphoto.com/mammals/carnivores/L1490224.jpg
http://wildlightphoto.com/mammals/carnivores/L1490235.jpg

BooBoo:
http://wildlightphoto.com/mammals/carnivores/L1490071.jpg
http://wildlightphoto.com/mammals/carnivores/L1490239.jpg
http://wildlightphoto.com/mammals/carnivores/L1500003.jpg

At the beginning of the week it was clear that BooBoo was still very 
dependent on Blondie for food.
http://wildlightphoto.com/mammals/carnivores/L1490188.jpg
http://wildlightphoto.com/mammals/carnivores/L1490079.jpg
http://wildlightphoto.com/mammals/carnivores/L1490369.jpg

Blondie is a good hunter:
http://wildlightphoto.com/mammals/carnivores/L1500034.jpg
http://wildlightphoto.com/mammals/carnivores/L1500044.jpg
http://wildlightphoto.com/mammals/carnivores/L1500050.jpg
http://wildlightphoto.com/mammals/carnivores/L1490209.jpg
http://wildlightphoto.com/mammals/carnivores/L1490098.jpg

She demonstrated a clear preference for female salmon, frequently catching a 
male then tossing it aside when she found it didn't contain roe.
http://wildlightphoto.com/mammals/carnivores/L1490361.jpg (male salmon)
http://wildlightphoto.com/mammals/carnivores/L1490310.jpg (female salmon)

Another bear was attracted to the creek one day.  This bear has an injured 
or missing right eye:
http://wildlightphoto.com/mammals/carnivores/L1490256.jpg

choices, choices:
http://wildlightphoto.com/mammals/carnivores/L1490285.jpg

One Eye gets a fish:
http://wildlightphoto.com/mammals/carnivores/L1490249.jpg

Once Blondie and BooBoo showed up, One Eye ran off.  Don't mess with a 
mother bear.

Life for a bear isn't all fishing.  BooBoo declares play time:
http://wildlightphoto.com/mammals/carnivores/L1490148.jpg
http://wildlightphoto.com/mammals/carnivores/L1490135.jpg
http://wildlightphoto.com/mammals/carnivores/L1490141.jpg
http://wildlightphoto.com/mammals/carnivores/L1490143.jpg

By the end of the week BooBoo was doing his own fishing:
http://wildlightphoto.com/mammals/carnivores/L1490331.jpg
http://wildlightphoto.com/mammals/carnivores/L1490197.jpg

technical stuff:  R8/DMR
280mm f/4 APO & 180mm f/2.8 APO
shoulder stock & monopod with 280, shoulder stock alone with the 180.  Any 
weird colors are my responsibility.  All comments welcome.

Doug Herr
Birdman of Sacramento
http://www.wildlightphoto.com




Replies: Reply from afirkin at afirkin.com (afirkin at afirkin.com) ([Leica] IMG: Blondie & BooBoo)
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