[Denali NP]: Bear distance limit

According to the Denali NP ruling, the posted minimum legal distance a

photographer must maintain between a bear and himself is 300 yards (or 275 m).

With that distance, even with a 600mm, the bear will not fill the frame.

 

How do you guys get around this distance barrier? Shoot from the bus? Any

constructive suggestions would be appreciated. Thanks!

To get too close to a hungry bear is foolish.

 

Do not forget, there sense of small, hearing, and perhaps sight make yours seem handicapped. They can also cover 300 yards faster than you can cover 50.

 

Somebody needs to carry a rifle and know how to use it. Do not get cought.

 

Generally hunters approach slowly from downwind and do things to mask human scent.

 

I suggest to hire a guide.

The distance is 300 <strike>feet</strike> yards.

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<A HREF=

"http://www.nps.gov/dena/planyourvisit/photography.htm">

www.nps.gov/dena/planyourvisit/photography.htm</A>

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still be safe.

I suggest following the park rules.

 

If you want to get closer, go somewhere else.

 

The VERY LAST THING you want to do is anything stupid enough to result in even tigher restrictions on photography when you get caught.

 

Ask this guy ^

 

Or, do some serious cropping :)

When I was in Denali, I don't think we were ever closer than maybe a half-mile to any bear. They looked like bear dots so the cropping was extreme.

 

But when you think about the distance requirement, it does make sense. It keeps you a modestly healthy distance away from the bear and allows the bear modest privacy. All in all, a good policy.

 

The way to get around the distance limitation is do your photographing outside Denali. There are many bear locations in Alaska, though I can't imagine you really want to get much closer anyway. If you do, I suggest you consider visiting a zoo.

Bears can travel up to 40 mph, and when I used to do a lot of camping, I know my max was a lot less...so I went out of my way to keep the distance. I recall taking bear photos from a helicopter at Denali. FWIW, many of the Alaska bear photos I've seen aren't from Denali at all, but from a river in the south during salmon run, when the bears seem to have little hesitation mingling with the fishermen.

Keep in mind the openess of the land in Denali. You will do good to get within 300 yards of a bear if I had to guess. In Denali, I would put an emphasis on the landscapes. In other parts of Alaska, you can get closer to bears for sure. Too close at times. I would suggest a tripod and sharp capture with remote shutter release. That will allow you to crop something decent. If you want closer shots, look at the beach guides in Katmai area. The Brooks Falls and similar places will get you close of course. Better yet, take a float trip. We have bears in camp on most trips. 23 feet and 30 feet. Like I said before, they can be too close at times. When you stick your head out of the tent at 0300, the last thing you want is a "full frame" shot. Ha ha. Below are some pics I took in Alaska two weeks ago. Many were cropped a lot as the animals were far away (80-150 yards). I used a Canon 100-400. You can get some decent shots by cropping if you had a sharp capture to start with. When the below link opens, you can click "slideshow" in the upper right.

 

To get closer, you have to shoot from the bus, or if you're lucky enough to get a permit, from your own vehicle. As the others have noted, I wouldn't try to get any closer.

 

On one trip to Denali, I did end up getting closer while on a solo backpacking trip, but it was the bear that was running at me that violated the distance. He charged to within about 30 yards before stopping. They move awfully fast. I must admit that, at the time, taking photos was the last thing on my mind. We had a short conversation, which amounted to huffing on his part and showing me his profile, and some low volume mutterings on my part.

 

I duly reported the incident to the rangers afterward, but I don't think the bear got fined for violating the distance regulations - the scofflaw.

BTW, the standard Alpenglow Visitor Guide (from the Denali NP website) says 300 yards for bears. So, I am not making it up.

 

Hmmm ... which one is the official now: I am confused: 300 ft or 300 yds? Quite a big difference in distance.

The link Jess Lee provides specifies 300 YARDS, but there was a typo in his post.

OK, re-reading the link posted above, it is 300 yards:

 

Grizzly bear:

Pedestrians & bicyclists: Do not approach to within 300 yards or less

Shun,

 

I think Jesse really meant 300ft because that number was mentioned right on the header of the table in that link regarding some vaguely defined corridor distance.

 

Anyone understand what that corridor distance is about?

A hundred yards is nothing. Heck, that's almost shotgun range. I would be awfully nervous about being that close, myself. A bear could close a hundred yards in about the time it would take to pull a can of pepper spray out of a holster.

 

 

Kent in SD

since a bear can go 40mph that is 211200 feet in 1 hour. 211200/3600=58.6ft per second. and a bear is at full speed in about 2 seconds. that means that the bear can get to you at 300yrds away in 62 seconds. at 100yrds away that is about 21 seconds.

 

how far can you run in 62 seconds? note you cannot run 40mph.

 

i have yet to see a picture worth dieing for.

The standing joke around my household for a number of years is to take a friend with you. Then you don't have to worry about outrunning the bear, only outrunning your friend :)

In Denali the corridor is the NPS designation indicating the road way and 300 yards on either side, Backcountry is anywhere else. This is defined on one of the links.

Arthur, please take a look at that page again. It says the road corrador includes the areas that is 300 feet on each side. That is a general descriptive header about the width of the corrador. The specifics about grizzly is 300 yards.

 

Towards the bottom of the page, they even have some graphics showing that you should stay at least 300 yards/275 meters from bears.

It's worth watching the movie "Grizzly Man" before thinking about closeup photography of bears ouside of a controlled environment.

>It's worth watching the movie "Grizzly Man"

 

Yes, I have seen that Timothy Treadwell documentary. I had to detoxify my ears after the movie. If he is not a mentally disturbed person, I don't who is. :)

 

So far, you guys talk like every bear is going to eat you for lunch. Well, may be the ones in Denali are like that, I don't know.

 

If you are in Katmai, it is clearly impossible to keep a 300 yards distance. The "short" hike from the ranger station to the wooden platform at Brook Falls will often have you meet sows, cubs, and "teenager" bears face to face. You are lucky if you are more than a 100 ft from the next bear. There are more than 300 bears within that half square mile. You go there to mingle with bears , literally: that's what you pay for. May be the bears are less dangerous to mingle because the salmons are keeping them busy.

 

Having said this, I have not heard of people going to Denali to mingle with bears. So, again, the inland bears could well be different: that's why all of your heckles are up when you guys talk about Denali bears.

I'll say up front I'm no expert on bears. I'm a Northern Plains hunter, after all. I will say this. The bears around the salmon would likley be less dangerous because they have plenty of food all around them and are thinking, "salmon." The bears at an interior location may not have this concentrated protein source and will be in hunting/scavaging mode when they see you. Likely, they will be sizing up everything they come across and making the mental calculation, "Can I catch it? If I catch it, can I whup it?"

 

 

Kent in SD

Brooks Falls is very, very different from Denali. The bears at Brooks falls are

interested in eating fish, they have full stomachs are used to humans on the

platform and don't see them as food or a threat.

 

You may not be so lucky with random bears out in the wilderness.

 

Even trained, fully habituated, "stunt bears" have been know to turn on their

trainers. Wild bears are exactly that. Wild and unpredicatable. Even at Brooks

Falls, there's always a Ranger around to make sure things don't get nasty (and

stupid tourists don't try to "pet the bears").

 

I'd say a 300 yard limit is quite sensible in Denali. If you really want to get closer,

go somewhere else and trust your luck.

For the last 2 summers, there's this "migratory" urge in me to want to head north to see bears, other large mammals and tall mountains. I have talking too much and I think I will head there this summer.

 

If you don't hear from me anymore, you know why Yogi is slurping his lips. :)

Somehow this all reminds me of the guys climbing on the killer whale (or shark?).

 

These are not cuddly pets. Look at the website posted above, it's clearly 300 YARDS.

 

Is it true that deer kill more people than bears? For a take on that see http://wittingshire.blogspot.com/2005/04/truth-about-white-tailed-deer.html<div></div>

That lens extender is looking better all the time, or maybe you can sell your photo for

an arm and a leg.