I’ve just learned that the above image of a female grizzly bear (she also had two cubs with her) chasing salmon, was selected as the First Place winner for the ‘Wild Settings’ category of the BC-SPCA Wild ARC 2012 Wildlife in Focus photography competition.  The Wild ARC is a Wild Animal Rehabilitation Centre operated by the BC SPCA.  Located near Victoria, it is the only wildlife rehabilitation centre on southern Vancouver Island.  Their mission is to provide humane care to injured, orphaned, sick & distressed wildlife and they not only treat wildlife from southern Vancouver Island but from all over the region and work closely with other rehabilitation centres such as Courtenay’s own MARS (Mountainaire Avian Rescue Society).  As with many of the rehabilitation centres I support throughout BC, they too do a fantastic job and rely solely on donations and fundraising campaigns such as this competition.  More of their work can be seen here: Wild ARC

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This is a shot taken from last summer.  I was out helping a research student collect data from her observation cameras.  We got out of our truck next to a salmon spawning channel to head to one of the cameras and at the time nothing was in sight.  Instinctively I called out ‘hey bear’ and right on cue this guy stuck his head up from down behind the sluice gate and looked around as if to ask ‘you talking to me?’  As a response, the immediate reaction from the bear seemed and was quite comical, it really was like he was asking the question, but it also goes to show the seriousness of keeping safe in the bush and ensuring the bears know you’re around so that you do not startle them.  By keeping yourself safe, you’re keeping the bears safe!