Fortunately this is not a permanent pose only a common position we often find bears using on our tours. At low tide bears come to the beach for food and that requires them to turn over rocks to get at the high protein crab, clams, barnacles, amphipods and other tiny invertebrates. Rocks roll easier down hill so we often have a great view of their backside. This black bear like others will eventually move to another rock and prove more photogenic. The good aspect of this photo is that it shows we are not interrupting their feeding or disturbing their natural habits as the motto we tend to use as guides is “ Leave them as we find them.” Part is we want to be able to come back to the same area another day and not to have the bears run when we approach but the main reason is that it is good stewardship.
Your first evening at Grizzly Bear Lodge involves an evening boat run in the local waters looking for black bears. At low tides the bears come to the beach to roll rocks for protein in the form of small crab, clams, barnacles, amphipods and other tiny invertebrates. Guest often ask how do the bears know when there will be a low tide? When we travel along the shore by boat it is possible to pick up the smell of the beach and it is said that bears are thought to have the best sense of smell of any animal on earth. For example, the average dog’s sense of smell is 100 times better than humans. A bloodhound’s is 300 times better. A bear’s sense of smell is 7 times better than a bloodhound’s or 2,100 times better than a human. Simply stated they smell low tide and food.
