What kind of Wildlife Photographer Are "YOU"

Mid-September last year; 200 mm; 15 ft.

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I went to Africa 4 months ago & had the time of my life but I hesitate to blow this thread up with all the photos I took. BUT, nice entries from everyone! Keep posting.

JEFF: come back! We miss you!

I was travelling the Trans Canada Highway a few years back when I came across a bunch of cars along the roadside. That usually denoted a wildlife sighting of some sort, so I stopped to have a look. A tourist in a camper van had spotted a mother black bear with three cubs foraging about 100m from the road. She had stopped and was enticing them to come within range of her cell phone by throwing food - vegetables and berries - between herself and the bears.

The mother acted as expected and came closer. I know what a black bear can do - I was with a SAR team that found a shredded body of a hiker who had apparently come between a female black bear and her cubs. It was pretty horrific. In fact, in the three weeks I was in the area three hikers died in a similar way. I told the woman in question the folly of what she was doing and that it was illegal but she wanted to get the shot and others were standing with her doing much the same. The bears came within about 5m of the roadside.

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Maureen, we would love to see your photos.

Lyn2011 wrote in post #19003576
Maureen, we would love to see your photos.

I second that motion! At least "some" of your photos!!

Tronhard wrote in post #19003541
I was travelling the Trans Canada Highway a few years back when I came across a bunch of cars along the roadside. That usually denoted a wildlife sighting of some sort, so I stopped to have a look. A tourist in a camper van had spotted a mother black bear with three cubs foraging about 100m from the road. She had stopped and was enticing them to come within range of her cell phone by throwing food - vegetables and berries - between herself and the bears.

The mother acted as expected and came closer. I know what a black bear can do - I was with a SAR team that found a shredded body of a hiker who had apparently come between a female black bear and her cubs. It was pretty horrific. In fact, in the three weeks I was in the area three hikers died in a similar way. I told the woman in question the folly of what she was doing and that it was illegal but she wanted to get the shot and others were standing with her doing much the same. The bears came within about 5m of the roadside.

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At this point a ranger turned up, she demanded to know who was encouraging the bears and the woman admitted that she had. The ranger said that now, to discourage the bear from becoming tolerant of people she would have to shoot the bear. She took out a shotgun and did so - using a plastic round that stung the bear but didn't injure it. The bear bolted and so did the cubs. Everyone was horrified, but as the ranger explained, if she did no,t the next time that bear would come to a human expecting to find food and that was dangerous for the human and the bear as any injury or death to a human would result in the bear's death, and likely that of the cubs. The woman got a hefty on-the-spot fine.

Bears are becoming more desperate for food and that is bringing them into contact more and more with humans, bating them with food (like berries) encourages them and increases the chances of conflict resulting in death or injury. Grizzlies are omnivores, I have seen them outrun and take down a moose, in comparison with which a human is an easy catch.

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There is a male grizzly in that bush.

My point is that under controlled conditions photography of bears is a great pastime, but I would strongly discourage the random engagement of bears for a photo. It's not worth death or injury to humans and certainly not the bears.

I am glad a ranger was nearby at the time and saw what was going on!

Do you have a preference? Lions, leopards, cheetahs, elephants, buffalo, wildebeest migration, black rhino? I took almost 4000 photos......

Pardon the language but we call them the Dumb Ass Awards. Skip & I see them in every national park we visit & once I told a man I was going to take pictures of him being attacked & eaten by the bear he was creeping up on with his cell phone camera.

Maureen Souza wrote in post #19003533
I went to Africa 4 months ago & had the time of my life but I hesitate to blow this thread up with all the photos I took. BUT, nice entries from everyone! Keep posting.

JEFF: come back! We miss you!

Go ahead, go nuclear on this thread!

I also took about 4,000 photos in Africa last year. I have some of the same animals as Maureen (no Black Rhino), but also some different ones. I am still processing them, but I might join in as well.

Maureen Souza wrote in post #19003718
Do you have a preference? Lions, leopards, cheetahs, elephants, buffalo, wildebeest migration, black rhino? I took almost 4000 photos......

Several of each is my request, . I most likely will remain confined to North America so any wildlife photos from Africa will be welcome.

Elephants at sunset in Madikwe National Park, South Africa. The sun was just disappearing behind the hills.

People take all sorts of stupid risks around animals. I saw a family with young children trying to take pictures with their phones of Highland cows that had calves with them on the Applecross peninsula in Scotland. The people were only feet away from the cows and were getting between them and their offspring. These cows have very big horns and people have been killed before by getting between a cow and her calf.

As soon as my grandkids go hone I will get some up. Maybe a small handful each day until somebody shouts “Enough!”

We will start with my favorite of the cats...the leopard. Smallest in size, strongest pound for pound. We were told if we caught any glimpses of leopards it would be their tail into the underbrush. We saw leopards every day and two mamas with cubs. One mom and her cub. Shooting through bushes & grasses but happy to get the shots.

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