Bear encounter!

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Hey Folks.

Just the other day, I was on the ground working out at the lodge when I had a wee visit from one of our furry friends. We get bears at the lodge all the time as they check it out and hang around for a few hours before moving on, but this time he decided to check me out instead! He appeared out of nowhere (like bears often do) and stood looking at me from about 15 - 20 ft. I pumped a slug into the chamber of the 12 gauge and had my finger on the trigger as I walked back to the vehicle whilst pointing the gun at the bear the whole time. It was an odd experience! I was thinking "are you gonna eat me or are you gonna just stand there?", "shall I shoot or shall I just walk back to the vehicle?". The bear was looking into my eyes the whole time (10 seconds), and the bear was thinking "shall I eat you or shall I just stand here?". I didn't fire a shot off and the bear walked away a short while afterwards. My heart continued to pound out of my chest for a short while afterwards too! It was a little bit too close for comfort. A close encounter of the furred kind!

I've taken a few images of some of the many bears I've encountered during the summer in Churchill, but on September 30th I put my camera away for the peak bear season, opting to be an observer as opposed to a photographer. I really got to enjoy watching the bears with my eyes instead of looking through a lens.

Theresa and I enjoy every moment that we spend with these magnificent creatures as they roam freely in our area.



Enjoy, D (and T).

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Photos

Thin Bear
This female is rather thin for the time of year. Normally when they come off the ice they are nice and plump.

Eating Lunch
We watched this bear drag a seal out of the sea and eat the entire thing! He even licked the rocks clean!

Eating a Beluga
This mother and her cub were enjoying a feast of Beluga until a larger male approached and chased them off.

Dead Bear.
Sometimes these beautiful animals pass on to bear heaven.

Her final sleep.
About a week prior to this there was a very old and tired looking female in this exact patch of willows. I'm assuming it's the same bear?

Comments

[T-BO]

Cosy lunch
He was probably looking at you and thinking.......things you see when you don't have hot sauce!