Black Bear Photos
Here are photos of a few black bears I have encountered. Enjoy!
Black Bear fishing for Kokanee Salmon
watching
photo of brown phase black bear taken from my old office
Black Bear surrounded by spring salad
photo taken from inside my office a few years ago
Sow watching from behind tree
Black bear climbing an urban fence in the pouring rain
Black bear browsing on the fresh spring grass
All photos and writing copyright Joanne Siderius
siderius blog 
lovely photos!:)
Thank you!
Seems like you’ve encountered several black bears. Did you ever have any problem with them? The few I’ve seen just went about their business, but I was still apprehensive.
Hi Jo Ann-
I have encountered several bears. I wear bear spray when I run or walk in the bush and keep my dog from chasing the bears. Dogs start many bear encounters. The dog chases the bear who usually runs off but occasionally gets “ticked off” with the dog and turns around and goes after the dog. Who does the dog run to? Why you, his protector of course… Most human-bear encounters are non eventful, but occasionally the bear is startled and acts defensively and bear spray works. Around here the bears learn to feed on garbage and fruit trees – all bringing them close to people and “habituated” to feeding on “people food”. The bears also get used to being around people and then you have a bear that can become a nuisance. Bears will walk into homes in search of food. So…people have to keep their garbage in and pick their fruit – or use an electric fence as I do.
So, yes, I’ve seen lots of bears and hopefully I have not been the cause of any being destroyed. I work on this issue so I apologize if I am a bit didactic…There is a great series of videos – “Staying Safe in Bear Country” that were put together by bear biologists and are excellent resources for feeling safer in the bush around bears.
Cheers!
Really nice pics Joanne! Are most of the bears in your area black bears?
Hi Dale!
Yes, most are black bears but there are grizzlies in the area. I have only seen them occasionally and never when I had a camera with me! There are some regular places where you can see them in spring and they occasionally get into garbage, chickens and other livestock too. I have some pictures of a captive grizzly but it almost seems like cheating!
Cheers
Those are marvelous pictures, Joanne! The expressions are priceless. Never met a black bear I didn’t love!! You have captured their pure reactions to humans and natural beauty in their normal activities….thanks for sharing.
Hi Louise!
I used to live at the edge of a travelway – the bears could cross Hwy 3 there and move on down to the river – and they did! I took some of those pictures behind the glass of my office and they turned out OK if not super sharp. And the others were bears I encountered while out and about. It would be wonderful to watch bears unobserved – but we would have to be other bears to truly have that viewpoint!