Glacier National Park is Blackfoot ancestral land. The Blackfoot people believe that grizzly bears can see into a human heart and read a person’s intentions. This is mama grizzly and her cub when we first encountered her on the trail and she went into high alert.
Here is mama after she looked into our hearts, approved our intentions, and took one of several naps. We spent several hours watching mama and cub, and have encountered bears every day since, both in Glacier and Waterton National Parks.
Here mama and cub are both relaxed enough to nurse in our presence!
She knew we were here, and looked at us regularly. We respected her space and never moved close enough to provoke any anxiety.
We watched her forage,
turn over rocks, hunt for rodents,
and fish.
We watched baby bear scratch his back on a little pine tree,
and we saw mama yell at him!
.
This is mama bear’s home. She is as magnificent as her surroundings. Grizzly populations have been decimated in the wild. I have a lot more bear and other wildlife photos to share with you, but wifi out here is far less present than bears! This my first connectivity in days and it won’t last!
I miss you and your blogs, and send you cheers from the wonderful wild grizzlies who see into our human hearts and look to us for protection~
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oh my goodness! what magnificent beauty! How close were you?
cate
This was our first bear encounter of the trip. We were about 60-100 yards from her at all times. She at times got closer to us while farting around, not vis versa. She was relaxed with us but we have learned a lot about respecting wild animal space over the years. She did charge, but not us. As we were leaving, a group of hikers came on the scene, I pointed her out to the hikers and they continued on towards her and she mock charged them, which means she charged, but called it off. It was a warning to the hikers who were not patient and respectful. She then hid the cub and hid herself behind a pine tree and I got a pic of her looking scared and hiding. I think grizzlies often attack when surprised, so I always sing my ass off on the trail. Usually this results in me seeing a grizzly butt as it runs away from my screeching serenade! Laughing…..
wow. what a wonderful adventure.
I can just imagine you hiking around in Glacier with a bear behind! 🙂 Fabulous photos!
I am sure you didn’t mean bare! That would really scare the bears! 😉
What beautiful photographs of such amazing animals, Cindy. You’re very brave, regardless of what lies in your heart!! <3
We are super careful, very noisy, carry bear spray, and respect the bear’s space which is all you can do to stay safe.
Fantastic pictures…National Geographic quality!
Awwwww, I really felt an obligation here to convey the majesty of the bear and her home. The last photo is where she was. There are only an estimated 300 grizzlies left in Glacier which is a tragedy.
Magnificent! Can’t wait to see the rest of the photos!!
My God, seeing these incredible animals in the wild is so amazing. I can’t imagine anyone who sees them, not wanting fiercely to protect them.
It breaks my heart to even think about that! Thank you for sharing these beauties with us.
Yes! <3
Isn’t it sad what we humans have done to so many amazing creatures.
Grizzlies are California’ s state bear. The largest grizzly shot in North America was shot at The Holler in the 1890’s. Now there are no more California grizzlies. It is horrible when you see what we have destroyed.
These are beautiful scenes and of course the bears are scary. 🙂
If they were cranky with you, it would be terrifying, but people are much more dangerous.
I really enjoyed watching the bear and his mama in action Cindy. It is great that they felt comfortable being photographed.
hugs, Linda
Hugs back to you Linda and hope you are well my friend!
Wow, wonderful post, Cindy. Mama bear looks like she can see into people’s hearts, indeed. What an amazing experience to be able to follow them in the wild.
We have seen multiple bears every day! It is incredible. The last time I remember seeing this many bears was when I was a kid in Yellowstone. The fires have driven them down the mountains.
That’s so cool you get to see them!
<3
As usual, your photos are awesome! I do so love traveling with you vicariously. Have missed seeing you around but one of your posts makes up for your absence! x
I go through blog withdrawal when I can’t read blogs. It is especially hard at night when I am itching to open the reader!
I confess that I go through withdrawal, too! My husband says I’m addicted. Tomayto-tomahto, I say. 😀
Tell him it is a positive addiction, like exercise and cooking, because, well, it is!! <3
This is so amazing! What a wonderful view of these bears! Truly fantastic!
There are no superlatives adequate to describe these creatures. The photos have to do the talkiing…..
Yes they truly do! It is just so unbelievable!
<3 <3
Wow! Amazing experience and photos Cindy. Rock on! 🙂
God, I so wanted to see bear and I am seeing BEAR!!!! Jazzed!
Wow you are brave!! How far away were you? I think I’d be so scared. Wonderful bear pics and that last landscape is to die for!
The rangers recommend 100 yards with bears and we try and stick to that. We are never closer than 50 yards, maybe 30 with a black bear, but that is the bear’s choice. We are super careful, so as much as one can take precautions to be safe, we are. There is always random chance, but you are safer with bears than in a crowded city or a car.
Thank you for letting me know. 100 yards seems safe…50 yards would raise my eyebrow and 30 yards..no way! But I’m a chicken lol.
30 yards with a grizzly would have me rapidly backing up!!! 😉
You watched them for hours, and you were so close to them. Thank you so much for sharing your adventure, Cindy! 🙂 Fantastic photos!
We only left when other hikers came and scared the bear! 😉
I guess it’s safe so long people don’t get into their space. 🙂 So wonderful to see these images. Thank you! 🙂
Thank you more Amy for always being you!! <3
I’m astounded that they let you get that close. Your photos are beautiful. You truly captured their power and beauty. ☺
Aren’t they the most freaking amazing animals! I couldn’t get over the power of the front legs, how they are hinged to swing, and the length of the claws. Amazing power that can be wiped out in a second by some fool with a gun or a bow.
That must be very exciting to watch the bears in their own environment. The view picture is spectacular!
There are just that spectacular and seeing them in the wild is life changing! <3
What an amazing experience to be so close and be respected for respecting her space – how humbling that must have been. Those claws of theirs however did seem a very “not so subtle” yet very bright, very good reminder to NOT invade their space! 🙂
It was a thrill of a life time for me! I couldn’t believe she let us watch her and the cub! I was humbled, blown away, and so was my husband. I simply couldn’t wait to post her. I want everyone to love and protect our so few remaining grizzlies. <3
Thanks for sharing.
Thank you more for appreciating them!
These photo are amazing Cindy! To out in the wilderness watching the bears so closely must be astonishing. Thank you for sharing!
Yes, it was the penultimate natural high. There are only around 300 grizzlies in Glacier and it is a massive, massive place. So it was an incredible thrill. We are going to see coastal grizzlies next year in the Knight Inlet which we have done before, and where you are certain to see the salmon eating bears. But an inland mama grizzly and cub who let us watch her for hours in Glacier? Just, WOW!!!
Wow! You are blessed to travel and see this, we are also for your sharing. God bless you, stay safe, and peace! 🙂 I can’t wait to see more of your photos during your travels. 🙂
Awwww, you are the reason I love to blog!
I hope you had an incredible lens to take those pictures. How about the guy who was killed by the mama bear. He took a picture of a bear running towards him and he couldn’t get the second one off before he was bear dinner… yikes
Yeah, that is super spooky. I have 1200 mm equivalent zoom. Safe viewing lens! A person was killed in Yellowstone this year hiking alone. Last time we were in Yellowstone, three years ago, there were several maulings. Yellowstone bears in late fall can unnerve me. We go there next!! Woo Hoo!! Still you are safer in the wilderness then in a car on a freeway.
So true! Have fun!
Can you take any pics of what’s left of the glaciers… Not much left, sad….
I swear it looks as if you are a few feet away…
THe glaciers are pretty sad, so much smaller every few years, estimated to be gone by 2030.
Glacier was one of the most amazing places I’ve ever visited. These pictures and your commentary are an amazing spectacle… My memory of wildlife in Glacier veers to the arcane. We were in the parking lot at the continental divide and got out of the car, only to turn the corner of an RV to hear a woman saying, “Here kitty kitty, here kitty kitty…”
…
to a mountain goat. I think the goat utterly lacked the grizzly mama’s propensity for reading intentions, and i have to say we were equally baffled… 🙂
Michael
hehehehe! Great memory. I remember a woman on a whale watching cruise in Alaska who sang cheesy operettas to atttract the whales. We saw no whales that day….. 😉
Have you ever watched the movie The Grizzly Man about a real life grizzly bear enthusiast who after years of spending time getting close to grizzlies was attacked and killed with his girlfriend in their tent? I think we have to be very careful when we romanticize animals too much. I do love the pics though–they are beautiful creatures just as humans are–but there’s a dark side to all life on earth.
Oh yes, Werner Von Herzog’s movie and Timothy Treadwwell’s book. Very familiar with both. You are correct. Grizzlies can be very lethal especially when people are foolish around them as Timothy sadly was, and then also there is plain bad luck, like being at the wrong place at the wrong time. Following the rules: hiking with people, making noise, carrying bear spray, observing viewing distances, monitoring bear sightings with the rangers, storing food properly, improves your odds. We follow the same basic rules in Africa and the Amazon, wherever the wild things are. I don’t romanticize bears, but I do also know people are much more lethal to bears, than bears are to people. People are also a lot more lethal to other people, than bears are. I was a psychotherapist and mental health director for 30 years. Unfortunately, I know about human darkness and the wonder of human compassion. I also don’t romanticize people. Thank you for the important cautionary note.
For most of my life I DID romanticize animals and think that people were the problem, but people are a part of the ecosystem. We are just another animal or so many people want us to believe. If that’s so then we are just better survivors. (I believe differently). A fox came last winter and killed 16 of our chickens in a killing frenzy.We were told that sometimes foxes do this when they get so excited at the noise and ruckus being made by the chickens. The fox couldn’t carry all the chickens home or eat all of them. He took one or two and left the rest. I found dead frozen chickens for days. Cats play with their terrified prey for hours only to leave them at the door while they beg for canned cat food.
I wrestle with our place in all of this. The dentist who killed the lion got more press than the many human killings happening at the same time and some Africans were asking what the fuss was all about. Life is tough isn’t it.
Yes, confusing and perplexing trying to sort it all out. We have lots of coyotes and I have heard of the behavior you describe, but I also have learned about they have distinct personalities, some aggressive and others more passive. I don’t know the answers either, but I know we humans have free will and can choose to treat our fellow humans, animals and this planet with respect and compassion. I try to stay focused on this. These are important issues you are bringing up with no black and white answers. My thinking continues to evolve over time and experience.
Beautiful animals, splendid landscape. Enjoyed the pics.
Awwww, so pleased you enjoyed them and appreciate them too!
Cindy, I am amazed you were able to get that close to a mama and cub without it becoming aggressive and attacking. How close were you with your camera? We didn’t see a grizzly in Glacier NP, but did have a black bear run right across the road just a few centimeters from hitting our bumper in the park there as we drove though. It frightened us and the bear as it got on its hind legs in fright and ran. Scared us too. 🙂 But, never saw another bear there or in Waterton NP but that was the first week June (2011) when we were there.
These photos were telephoto,shot at around 60-100 yards or so. I don’t want to cuddle a grizzly bear, laughing! We follow full precautions on all trails, ie., grizzly spray, I sing loudly (excellent deterrant for all creatures), we never hike alone, we don’t carry food, we check trails with rangers. Although I want to see bears. I want to see them safely and at a distance, just like in Africa. We saw a black bear cub too like you did, that was frightened and came close to us, but he was not at all hostile, just scared.
We took a trail there in GNP (don’t remember the name), but somehow got off the path and got lost. Very scary as I kept looking around every tree for grizzlies, etc. I bought a cool walking stick at the gift shop that came with a bell, and I sure used it plenty walking through those woods. It rained and was real cool at that time and the ‘Road to the Sun’ was closed due to late snows and icy conditions.
Sounds like pretty incredible memories!
Beary nice photos, my friend! \ ◕ ‿ ◕ /
‘dem bears were eatin ‘dem huckleberries! Smart bears know ‘der berries! 😉
LOL..unbearably cute ^( ‘◡’ )^
Don’t tell anyone, but I am addicted to huckleberries too, huckleberry ice cream, huckleberry pie, huckleberry jam. Yummmmmmmy!
Magnificent beings, these bears! And their home is beautiful too. Thank you for sharing this wonderful experience, including the advice to sing loudly on the trail !
Preferably badly like I do. You wouldn’t want to sing well and actually draw the bears! 😉 😉
Wow those bears were close! But they were also beautiful. Thanks for sharing the photos!
Thank you more for appreciating them!
Beautiful…one of my wanna see bucket list animals.
Yes, you want to come here, peferably in the fall. The colors are hard to describe!
Is his lovely post from Canada?
Whatever, the bears are cuddly….. in the pics!
Oh yes, I am in Canada, which means I am in heaven, taking photos, walking around upper Waterton Lake taking sunset photos, and considering buying a wooden bear (2 feet tall). Jim wants him for the foyer. Whenever I am in Canada, I wonder why I don’t live here. I am wondering this now……
…. because we need someone to buy our wooden bears and take them home! Lol!
Jim found a shirt with bears hiding behind a tree holding a net to catch people, that read, “Free Internet.” That was too close for comfort for me.
“Hahaha!” Free Bearnet. We need Free Bearnet! I’m thinking it’s the next big thing!
As usual Resa, of course, you’re right!
She actually nursed her cub with you nearby. Gorgeous. This says so much about your heart, Cindy.
It says more about your heart, that you recognize all of this. Hugs to you and thank you~
Amazing photographs of pure bear folly! These are really magnificent creatures.
We have practically obliterated them and they are so incredible. I saw a t-shirt I should have bought Jim. It read, “Leave your Bow Inside, Go Outside: Glacier National Park.”
Really perfect Cindy!
<3
Amazing. Thank you.
So pleased you enjoyed!
What a beautiful place the grizzlies life and they are such magnificent creatures. Great shots and Ty of sharing them.
Thank you more for appreciating them! <3
What an amazing experience and what magnificent creatures. Excellent pictures, Cindy! I hope I get to see one in person one day.
I hope you do too. It is a thrill you will never forget!
Such awesome photos– I hope you had a really long lens because those bears looked to up close!! I was wonderful to get to see them in their magnificent setting. Beautiful all around.
Yes, a big zoom and lots of respect for mama and baby-bears space!
Great stuff and a very good sense of wildlife being harmless to us if we but respect them and their domains. Although you do have the benefit of not looking like a fish. 😀 :bear:
hehehe! That last bit is most helpful! 😉 😉
This is super seeing them so close, they are wonderful animals and you were so privileged to see them like this! Thanks for sharing this amazing experience!
Thank you more for appreciating and understanding!
Coz good Carpathian brown bear!
They are similar aren’t they!
¡Cuidado con los osos, Cindy! Son tan humanos que son muy peligrosos. Sigue disfrutando de ese maravilloso paisaje. Un abrazo <3
Gracias mi amiga, y si, yo tengo much cuidado! Abrazos~ <3 <3
Wunderschöne Aufnahmen, herzlichen Dank Cindy…
Vielen dank mein Freund Ernst! <3
Beautiful Bear photos Cindy! I want to just hug them! Have a wonderful weekend! Hugz Lisa and Bear
Laughing, they do look huggable, but I wouldn’t recommend it! Just hug your Bear instead! 😉
Great idea, that mama bear would rip our heads off
She likes her space!
If they can see into my heart… I´m not getting anywhere near that beast, as beautiful as it is, I´ve seen to many documentaries where black bears attack humans and specially if it´s a mommy with a cub, you´re nuts ! to get so close. Change your name, or better yet I got a nickname for you
Cindy “the dare devil” Knoke.
Laughing, you don’t want them looking in your heart eh Charly! Remember I do have 1200 mm equivalent telephoto.I don’t sit on their laps! 🙂 😉
Thank God, either way you´re a dare devil. Going into a forest which you know for sure there are bears….I wouldn´t go there unless I was armed.
Thank you his is an amazing set of pics of the bears, so so beautiful hugs
Thank you for recognizing the beauty of the bears~
Wow Cindy what a fabulous experience, wonderful photos in a wonderful place, so glad you shared them
I am thankful you enjoyed them! Cheers to you Mike~
Lovely….and the closest I will ever get to a grizzly. Their coats are such a beautiful colour…I had no idea.
There is quite a bit of variance in coat coloration. Biologists tell them apart this way!
Intriguing.
Awww, Mama Grizzly is such a great judge of character! What a treat to be able to see them engaging in their activities! I hope that we get our acts together and protect them so that those of us who dream of observing nature as you are get such opportunities in the future. ~Lynn
There are only around 300 graizzlies left in Glacier, so we better get our act together very quickly! I share your hopes and concerns Lynn~
Fantastic, thank you for sharing:)
Thank you more for appreciating!
They don’t look really aggressive and dangerous. Apparently, they feel pretty comfortable and safe in their environment. Animals in the wild look absolutely different than in Zoo.
I have noticed the difference in zoo and wild animals over and over again. Zoo animals have such a sense of defeat in their eyes. Wild animal eyes look completely ALIVE!
Zoo animals are prisoners! It says everything.
It’s true, although many species would be extinct without zoos.
Thanks so much for sharing these!
Awwww, thank you more for appreciating them!
Thank you so much Cindy for taking the time to share these marvellous photos.
Awwwww, so pleased you enjoyed Pauline!