Everyone loves to spend time in the great outdoors.
With a nice breeze, beautiful weather, and all the sounds of nature, it’s a relaxing way to spend your time. Unless a bear comes up and sits right next to you, of course.
That’s just what happened to Drew Hamilton.
Drew is a tech worker at the Alaska Department of Fish and Game. He got the chance to photograph some one of the most stunning wildlife events in the country: the largest gathering of brown bears anywhere in the world. Every year between June and August, hordes of brown bears come together to fish. They meet at Alaska’s McNeil River State Game Sanctuary, where there are plenty of salmon to enjoy. There, they stand at the water’s edge, searching for fish amongst their fellow bear friends.
During this time of the year, there are very few visitors allowed in the sanctuary.
After all, wildlife researchers want to make sure that these bears stay safe and that they have access to the food they need. Since not everyone knows how to act around bears, they limit how many people have access to the area in the summer months. But Drew was one of the lucky few who got to go to the sanctuary. He decided to photograph the bears, so he could capture this incredible event.
Drew knew he was going to get close to some bears. But he may not have realized just how close they would get. He set up an area where he could sit and point his camera at the bears by the water’s edge. He wasn’t too close to the water as so not to disturb the bears. Therefore, he probably thought that the bears wouldn’t get too close. However, he was wrong.
While he was taking pictures, a huge brown bear walked up right next to him.
The bear just stood there for a minute, looking out at the river and at all the other bears congregated there. He seemed to sniff the air a little bit as Drew recorded him. See, when a bear approaches you, it’s important to stay calm. Drew knew that, so he stayed in his seat and simply photographed the bear. Eventually, the bear sat down right next to Drew’s chair. The bear looked around casually, apparently unbothered that Drew was there.
For most people, this would be a scary experience. But with all of his experience, Drew managed to keep his cool. Plus, the bear didn’t look too frightening close up. While brown bears can seriously hurt humans, they generally don’t attack unless they are somehow provoked, anxious, or agitated.
However, after the bear got up from sitting next to Drew, something unexpected happened.
It almost looked as if the bear was coming toward Drew. But at the last minute, Drew made a noise that seemed to scare the bear away. It didn’t scare him enough to attack – just enough to warn him not get any closer than he already was. After that, the bear went away and moved on, probably down to the river where all of his other bear friends were fishing.
Scenes like this are very rare, as most humans don’t get the chance to get that close to wildlife.
But Drew’s photography has given average people a closer look at brown bears and their natural environment. Hopefully, Drew will continue to capture more beautiful shots like these.
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