Alligator River NWR in April Part 2

Field Journal Entry #2 - April 28, 2024

In between photographing the red tailed hawk and barred owls from my previous post, I discovered a couple bear. While slowly driving through the refuge I saw a bears head sticking out of the woods down near the canal. I slowly exited my truck and a started to photograph him. The lighting was less than ideal but I did want to shoot with the side light because I thought it made the scene more interesting. I was able to photograph the bear for a few minutes and then I noticed he started to seem uncomfortable. He wasn’t scared of me or my presence, he just wanted to cross and I was in his way. So I got in my truck and drove past him a good distance and got back out and waited. Luckily for me and him, there wasn’t much traffic on the refuge that day so he was able to slowly enter the canal, wash his face and then eventually cross the road.

So by giving this bear his space I was able to capture some really interesting behavior and most likely I was able to photograph him more. Had I not given him some space he most likely would have turned around and went back into the woods and crossed elsewhere or simply waited for me to leave before retrying.

After he crossed I discovered this second bear feeding out in the fields. He started out several hundred yards away and slowly fed his way towards me.

The same story happened here too. This bear came all the way up to the canal and I could tell he really wanted to cross. So I pulled down the road and gave him plenty of space and he crossed naturally.

I hope you enjoyed the return of my blog. Be sure to share with your friends!

Cheers,

Neil