Blind Channel, British Columbia, Canada / Sept. 2014 –

This is a follow up to photo of the week # 2. It was the same boat trip, but a different day. In fact, this was the first day and it was a great omen of things to come. We were looking for a place to anchor when our skipper, Captain John, spotted something odd in the waters way off in the distance. It was very calm but the actions didn’t seem to be that of any sea lion, which might have been our first guess. I was on the bridge with John when this happened. He put the binoculars to his eyes and declared it was a bear swimming across the channel. So naturally, we headed over towards him.

As we came up upon him, we realized it was a lone grizzly bear. He was rightfully concerned and pissed off at us because they are fearless yet here we were, a large vessel, crowding his space bearing down on him (excuse the pun). I had plenty of time to photograph him but the sun was harsh and the waters very reflective. In hindsight, I might have done a better job but with animals they are so unpredictable that my first instinct is to shoot first, improve later.

In a way it wasn’t just the bear I was photographing, it was the oddity of the situation and the idea of being submersed in the smooth blue waters. It works so well in contrast to his fur. You can see his shoulder blades working it. He had to, because I’m sure that his fur, when wet, weighed him down considerably. When I downloaded this and zoomed in a bit, I noticed his nostrils were fully flared and you can see the tiny water drops and spray from his labored and rhythmic breath. He was snorting profusely. (Double click for full enlargement and use the + to zero in on his face). I also felt I captured the silver-like shimmer of the sun’s reflection and the multi-rippled effect of his body plowing the otherwise smooth calm waters. Note that even the ripples have louvered styled shadows contouring the silver shimmers.

It appeared he was swimming from West Thurlow Island to East Thurlow Island, across the junction of Mayne Passage and Blind Channel. We followed him to shore. After about 20 minutes, he desperately climbed up on a large rocky outcropping and just like a dog on all fours, he shook off all the water, looked at us with a scowl then lunged into the woods and out of sight. This had been a very rare encounter and quite unusual swim. We figured it to have been about a distance of approx. 3 to 5 miles. The next day, another outdoor encounter entailed a black bear, but not from the safety of our vessel! More to come another time.