Bear with bare face

Great shot.  But I wonder what happened to his face?

I was wondering the same thing!  Maybe mange or stuck his/her head outside the den in freezing weather?

It would be odd for mange to affect such a small area without having any apparent effect on the rest of the bear's coat.  Any wildfires in the area in the past year?

Very cool picture, for it's originality and clinical correctness.

Hi Jeff!  I thought about a fire also.  Maybe stuck it's head in a campfire or something.  I took this near the northern edge of the Chequamegon National Forest in Wisconsin and they have controlled burns this time of year. 

He did what i did and got a cheap hair cut, it's the chance you take.

During lean years, bears in the Sierras have been known to rummage through poorly extinguished campfires in search of a lost hot dog or marshmallow.  He or she could easily have singed the hair on their face depending on how hungry.  They also burn the crap out of their paws.  I've never heard of one jacking a steak off an unattended active grill but if they're hungry enough... anything is possible.

Let this be a reminder to anyone having a campfire, drown and stir, then drown again.  Smokey Bear says so.