Black Bear Sow

This was my first bear encounter in Shenandoah National Park. I have read and heard
that bears are all over the park, but I had never seen one until the morning I shot this.

I took this in Big Meadows, on the same morning I shot many of the Whitetail Deer posted here.
It was fairly warm, and with the sun up for more than an hour, it was getting late as far as the deer were concerned. For the most part, they had abandoned the meadows for the shade of the trees.

On a final sweep of the meadow before heading home, I saw a couple of deer on the horizon moving towards me. I positioned myself so that I was directly in the path they were traveling and set up the tripod. When I looked through my lens, I got a huge adrenaline shot! They were not deer at all, but a Black Bear sow and cub walking though the tall grass (I really should start bringing my glasses with me in the field!). My boss swears this is not a bear, but a very large Labrador Retriever. I don't deny that it looks very "dogish," but it's a Black Bear, all right. My boss is a part-time referee, so that explains his poor vision.

When the sow stood on her hind legs to survey the area, I quickly snapped this shot.
Unfortunately, the vegetation is too high to see the cub cleanly and I did not have time to add a teleconverter for a tighter shot before they both took off. This was the one acceptable shot I got of the bears, but I am pleased it came out at all.

LENS: 500/4 | FILM: Fuji Provia 100F | EXPOSURE: f/4 at 1/?" | DATE: 07/02

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