More on Grizzlies

The day after we returned from our trip to Yellowstone we had an opportunity to attend a great lecture by Charlie Russell (not the artist, but the 'Bear Guy.") It was held at the Museum of the Rockies Auditorium in Bozeman.

Mr. Russell talked at length about his aspirations to show that Grizzlies are not necessarily the mean spirited "Ogre's" that public AND professional lore makes them out to be. He feels that it is the human element that leads us to approach all relations with bears as necessarily hostile; we expect meanness and we respond with fear, cruelty and our own brand of meanness. Charlie showed us many slides depicting his experiences with bears, first as a bear guide in British Columbia and then during a decade or more in Northwest Russia. He went there because of the supply of grizzlies AND an absence of regulations controlling what humans can, and cannot, do when interacting with bears. He actually bought orphaned cubs from organizations that had them caged, where they would have died had he not taken them into the wilderness. Almost all of them survived. I think he said the only one he lost was killed by a predatory male grizzly.

Here is a quote from an entry on Charlie's website that seems to explain his motives and his conclusions; ".......I have devoted much of the last 45 years to understanding bears; figuring out what they are capable of with regarding getting along with us. The answer is that they have no problem at all as long as we follow a few simple rules. I found that if we manage food and waste so bears can't get into it and treat the bears with respect , they are wonderfully easy animals to get along with. Teaching respect does not mean being violent with them in any way....."
The operative word, which he stressed over and over is '(mutual) RESPECT."

There is no way to describe the entire lecture and the fascinating experiences Mr. Russell shared with us through his talk and his many slides. The best way to learn more about this great AND successful experiment is to view Charlie Russell's website. Some of the photos showing him with bears are truly amazing, and humorous. He has produced a 95-minute DVD, which I purchased but have not had time to view. I plan to soon. A photo gallery
shows a number of slides of his Russian camp and lots of bear shots. If you see these links, I hope you will enjoy and gain a greater appreciation for the REALITY of bear/man relationships.
(Caution AND RESPECT seem to go hand in hand.) (Some photos from the website follow;

Grizzlies and Wolves

A week or so ago Mogie and I traveled over to Yellowstone Natl Park for a couple of days.
Our goal was to look for any kind of game animals in the Lamar River Valley, that is in the northeast corner of the park. We stayed over night in a cabin at Pine Edge Cabins in Silvergate, MT, which is just one mile outside the NE park entrance. That put us about 20 minutes from the center of the best area for possibly seeing game.

On our way over, we got to the Lamar Ranger Station, which is also the location for the Yellowstone Institute where there are a myriad of courses during the summer season.
As we neared the area we spotted a number of cars on the side of the road and a ranger obviously directing traffic. We pulled up to ask what was going on. He told us that there was grizzly bear feeding on an elk carcass about 100 yards away. As we looked for a place to park, a car right by us pulled out so we pulled in and had 'front row' seating in the center of the line.
Sure enough, about 100 yards off the road we could see the brown back of a bear. Unfortunately, it was mostly hidden by some fairly tall sage brush. There was a wide variety of Optical equipment set up along the road with spotting scopes, binoculars and fancy cameras with long lenses.
We watched for quite awhile, and I shot a few photos trying to catch him when he raised up a bit. Some of the results are below. His size and his claws are something to behold.


Here is a Raven leaving the scene. No Scraps.

We were struck by the breadth of his head.

After leaving the Grizzly, we headed to our cabin in Silvergate, investigated Cooke City, where almost nothing was open yet (too early for the season) and picked up a frozen pizza for supper. After we consumed a half-cooked pizza, we went back to the Lamar to see what the evening might provide. Sunset is around 9 pm this time of year (mid-May) so we had some light left.
Believe it or not, not far from the previous sighting place, we saw a big grizzly wandering up the river bottom land, about a mile away. It seems reasonable that it was the same bear that we had seen earlier in the same area. He was too far away for pictures but with a spotting scope and good binoculars we could see him well. He gave us quite a show, too. As he wandered along, periodically, he would sit down on his rump, lean back, grab his hind foot toes with his front foot and rock back and forth. It was like he knew we were all up on the hill watching him and he was showing off. One lady said, 'He is doing is Pilates.' That was a real treat.

We headed back to the cabin for a good book and some sleep. Next day we headed out about 6 (and many others were well ahead of us.) On our way to the Lamar, we spotted a lone grey wolf, eating something on a gravel bar. He, too, was no more than 150 to 200 yards away and in full view. We were the only ones there. However, we could not get any pictures because there was no place to pull off the road to use the camera.

We drove about 10 miles and found a group of people watching for wolves at Slough Creek.
They had seen one adult and a cub before we got there, but we were out of luck.
As we left that area, Mogie spotted another grizzly on a far hill. He had a coyote hanging around, hoping for a free lunch.

We decided to go back to where we saw the first wolf. When we got there, several people were watching what was apparently another wolf that had been feeding at the same river bar.
We finally got a few good looks at him, quite a ways away, as he ran through the willows. He was a different wolf and was almost black.

All in all, it was a great visit and we are ready to go again.

YouTube Discussion from some friends.

I have just been given a 'Heads Up' about a YouTube 'Video Discussion/Critique' that has been produced by some creative documentary film makers and graduate-school classmates of my son at Montana State University in Bozeman, Montana. Here is the link; http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nWa0l-YxvO8

These gentlemen have put together a thought-provoking video on YouTube that raises questions about YouTube and encourages viewers to join in a discussion/critique of YouTube, its roll in communications today, and and its potential value as a modern communications and media form. I encourage any and all to at least take a look at this video discussion. Some form of 'comment' registered about the film would be very helpful in getting the discussion rolling and broadening the exposure on the net. That would be helpful to the producers as well as the value of their film as a critique.

Personally, I am not much of a 'consumer' of YouTube. However, I have been referred to a few films or clips that have appeared there and I have found those to be very interesting and informative. In that sense it is a way to transfer or share information in a more efficient and convenient manner than some others. Based solely on my perception of the overall content of YouTube, I have very mixed emotions about its value or quality. I do have some philosophical views but those are not fully developed yet. (:>)

Anders and Mothers day

Today was mothers day and we had the great gift of a visit from Henry, Melynda and Anders (15 months.)
Henry and Melynda brought a great lunch, which was thoroughly enjoyed. Needless to say, most of the rest of the time was spent watching Anders play, cavort, laugh, and generally entertain his elders.
It was, in deed, a great joy and a very happy day. Here is one of MANY photos taken of "Himself."

Thanks to my son, Henry, I am starting out on this Blog 'thing.' I hope I can keep up with some regularity.
It is my hope and intention to put in aspects of my life that I think are both enjoyable and important.
Therefore, there might be an abundance of comments and photos of grandchildren and their parents. (:>)
Other than that I hope I can share some of my personal observations and experiences as I spend months in Montana and other months in Michigan or Maryland.