The gentle giants

1530 Views 8 Replies 6 Participants Last post by gus, Jun 13, 2002

Stranger

Discussion Starter · Jun 11, 2002

My other hobby is photography. I had to chuckle when I got my latest issue of "Petersen's Photographic." There's an extensive article by a B. "Moose" Peterson about photographing Alaskan coastal grizzlies. The title of the article is "The Gentle Giants" and that's not just an editor's headline. That description is peppered through the article as is the comment that he can approach the bears to a point that's frequently inside the close focusing distance of his lens.

Do you guys in Alaska agree with that desription for the Coastal Grizzlies or Brown Bears or is "Moose" on the bear's menu this summer???

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Contender

· #2 · Jun 11, 2002

This would seem to go along with the current trend of anthropomorphizing animals. While I have no personal knowledge of grizzlies as far as making contact with one, it gets a little ridiculous how many writers treat wild animals as if they are our pets rather than rendering them the respect of any wild creature.

This reminds me of the old "Wild America" nature show with Marty Stoufer. I laughed at how he used to dub in a supposed sound that the animal(s) made while he filmed them.

All this kind of fiction does is lead lay people into a false sense of what these animals are really like and what their true nature is. I like to call it "cartoon making" or caricaturing the animals.

Regards

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gun runner

· #3 · Jun 11, 2002

Stranger, moose is looking to be sushi, I watched a program on TV last week about a guy that has been going to the same area for 6 yrs and made friends with a Sow and Cub. It showed the sow comming up looking into the lens with this guy standing behind the camera, I dont know who was taking the pictures but in my unbaised opinon there NUTS. This might have been one in 1,000 of this happening, but not a recommended practrice. While hunting down around Homer AK, had a big nasty boar grizz track me a bunch of years ago, I lost it waundering down a stream (river). Wasant aware it was even tracking me until alearted by a couple of other moose hunters. What little hair I still had left started standing on end. That night in the cabin barred the door and windows, something I had never done, slept with hand on S&W 916 12ga that night. Plug pulled and loaded with double oo and slugs stagered. Never have been afraid of anything in the woods but let me tell you that got my attention. As far as getting up close to take pictures, thats what they have zoo's for.

gun Runner

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Stranger

Discussion Starter · #4 · Jun 11, 2002

Gun Runner:

Telling that story made MY hair stand up. It says grizzlies are smart and determined. If they ignore you it's because THEY choose to ignore you and not because of anything clever that this dopey photographer is doing.

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gun runner

· #5 · Jun 12, 2002

Stranger, just a bit of fun on this subj, wish I still had that little bit of hair left.
At least now the bugs have trouble landing .

Gun Runner

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arkypete

· #6 · Jun 12, 2002

Gun Runner and Stranger
You have to keep in mind that if Gun Runner had not smelled and looked so tasty the bear would left him alone or tried to bury him.
See, the bunny huggers and kissers will point out that he was playing a part in his becoming the bear's dinner.
It was the his fault and not the bears.
So you big bad meany, leave that poor dear bear alone and stop inticing him. Or I'll get my feather duster and give you a thrashing.
Arkypete

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gun runner

· #7 · Jun 12, 2002

Why R it againt the law to smear bacon greese on the bunny and tree huggers (include policticions) and see how fst they can run in their fancy gucci sneakers.
As the T-shirt says send more tourists the last ones were tasty.

Gun Runner

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dclark

· #8 · Jun 13, 2002

I remember an article that ran at least locally here in Wyoming. A photographer was missing from an expedition into the back country of Yellowstone Park. A search party located his badly mauled body on the edge of a meadow in the back country, together with his gear. Somebody decided to develop the film in the camera to see what he had last photographed with a 200 or 400 mm lens. The picture was a grizzly sow with a pair of cubs at a fair distance from the lens, but obviously too close for the sow. Here, nice bear.

Goes along with the tourists that go out to "pet" the bison. And then sue the Park when they get gored, trampled, etc. Stupid people who believe the wildlife films.

dclark

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gus

· #9 · Jun 13, 2002

The huggers should wear little bells on their belts so the Grizzlies can hear them walking. We could tell when a Grizzly was nearby from the little bells in the bear droppings.

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