Photo by Robert Hawthorne
Since we’re in the middle of Katmai Week here between The Circles, I wanted to share this photo, although probably not for the reasons many would think.
The pic above was taken of two fishermen in Katmai National Park. I’ve found myself in a similar situation while fishing Alaska’s rivers. Once was with my Dad, which was more nerve-wracking than when I was solo! Forget the bear, I was worried about how my Dad would react.
What I love about this picture, from all my time in Alaska, is that the bear actually has little to no interest in the fishermen. The bear simply has salmon on its mind. We don’t have two fishermen in the picture, but three.
If given half the chance, man can live with wildlife. The two species above, can coexist. Katmai NP&P is a prime example of that. I would hope that is the lesson the photograph has to give. After all, Alaska would be a much poorer place without her bears.
The photo was taken in July by Robert Hawthorne, a photographer out of Bozeman, Montana. His link is below:
October 5th, 2019 at 9:29 AM
Well said.
Regards Thom.
October 5th, 2019 at 6:28 PM
Thanks Thom
October 8th, 2019 at 6:17 PM
I had many encounters with bears during the time I was an assistant guide and never had any problems. On numerous occasions when I was videotaping bears have come up to three feet from my face… One only has to realize that like you said ‘wild’ bears do not consider us a food source and mostly attack because people do something stupid.