Here is a shot from along the BC coast that was taken back in the early fall.  It shows a spirit bear that almost appears to be smiling as he looks down in the river in the hope of spying a salmon hiding or trapped beneath the logs.  Bears will often check along the side of the rivers like this in search of spawned out salmon caught up amongst the roots and branches of trees and bushes or for live salmon taking a quick breather in the shadows before continuing their journey up river to spawn.  This guy, having no luck in this spot, quickly disappeared back in to the bush and didn’t re-emerge until some time later in the day, when he had better luck with a large male pink salmon.

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This bear was on the prowl stalking salmon in the river and he is one of several spirit or Kermode (ker-mo-dee) bears that I have been fortunate to see and photograph here on the BC coast.  When I chat with people at shows and events I attend, I’m surprised how many people from here in BC have never even heard of the spirit bear, know where it resides or how very few there are left in the wild, just 200 to 400, that’s all!  More can be seen here in the spirit bear gallery.

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This ‘action’ shot of a spirit bear or Kermode bear getting tucked in to a pink salmon was photographed here on the BC coast a short while back. Quite often these bears will just come down to the river, grab a salmon and head back in to the bush to eat it, which is what this guy did on a number of occasions throughout the day, but after a while he started to just stay down by the river to eat his catch.  More spirit bears can be seen in the spirit bear gallery and you can learn more about spirit bears in the article I wrote for ‘In Focus’ magazine. (click here – capturing the spirit).