Here we see a large male grizzly bear watching us very closely after hesitantly emerging from the forest to follow an in season female that we know very well – the Queen of the Khutz. This big guy became one of the stand out dominant males in the Khutzeymateen this year and based on his size alone was affectionately christened ‘Reacher’ by the local guides after the character from the Lee Child novels and subsequent tv series. Throughout our very short time with him, he did his best to remain hidden, but when the Queen crossed a channel, he knew he’d have to come out of hiding if he wanted to keep up with her, which is when I managed to get him here in this shot. Hopefully I’ll have a couple more shots of Reacher to come as I get through this year’s images from the Khutzeymateen.
