A Bear Tale

<p>I ran across this on Google+</p>

<p>http://www.fredmiranda.com/forum/topic/1114874/0</p>

<p>Glad you are okay, and that your D4 and the 600mm seem to be working.<br>

You made the right choice to just leave the tripod with the camera and lens and get to a safe place.<br>

I hope you get your tripod replaced by the insurance company.</p>

<p>I've never known many dumb grizzlys, so clearly this bear wasn't impressed too with the photographer. Or it appears, the D4.</p>

<p>And do you think that advertising of some "Pepper Spray for large animals" is a joke?<br>

It could have saved your tripod and your pride.</p>

<p>You were lucky that the bear found interest in Nikon equipment and not in you.</p>

 

<p>I work quite a bit in Bear country in Alaska. Most of the locals will tell you that if you're going to spray a bear with pepper spray, you'd better have a gun on you as well. Not to shoot the bear, but to put yourself out of your misery as the angry, pepper-sprayed, 2,000lb+ bear takes out his/her revenge upon you......</p>

<p>Nice pictures of the bear and the story is great also. </p>

<p>Probably upset that the D4 isn't 36 megapixel.... Glad that the camera is okay and that the photographer got out of there without getting mauled. </p>

<p>Dave</p>

 

<p>Talking to park rangers, many bear attacks were stopped by pepper spray, before bear get in progress of attacking, they back out.<br>

Possibly if you get close and surprise a bear and spray it, then ... there are actually no rules.<br>

Pepper spray is sold in the park for reason.</p>

 

<p>If the photos are any indication of the incident that bear was more curious than looking to attack. The last shots with the D4 and the 600mm don't show an angry bear.</p>

<p>I would have thought this is a good marketing advertisement for a quick release mechanism, but I guess the photographer couldn't afford one after paying for the D4 and that lens.</p>

<p>Remember your in his backyard. You dont want to take on a bear even with pepper sparay.The gear is insured so consider your self lucky that you were able to get out of there.Before you really pissed him off.</p>

<p><em>"I ran across this on Google+"</em></p>

<p>Why is everyone assuming the bear encounter is Lorne's personal experience? </p>

<blockquote>

<p>Why is everyone assuming the bear encounter is Lorne's personal experience?</p>

</blockquote>

<p>Well maybe because he was around to post about it.</p>

<p>But no, I can read, so I didn't make that mistake.</p>

<p>I thought this is a good example of what that D4 can do with the 600 lens. Anything else would have been too close in that situation, and even then I would have been eying the nearest tall tree to climb. But they're a bit spindly in those forests to be easily climbing high enough to get away from a pursuing grizzly. Not that the photographer could even have gotten to a good tree IF the bear was actually after him.</p>

<p>So maybe everyone thought that Lorne had survivor's rights here.</p>

<blockquote>

<p>But no, I can read, so I didn't make that mistake.</p>

</blockquote>

<p>Me either. </p>

 

<p>Looks like a fairly young and probably curious Griz. If the bear had been angry you would either be telling the story from a hospital bed or not telling it at all.</p>

<p>Some experts advise wearing little bells on your shoes to alert thye bears so they can get out of the way--along with carrying pepper spray. It's easy to tell if you are in Griz country. If you see a pile of bear poop examine it. If it smells like pepper and has little bells in it, it's probably a grizzly.:)</p>