My goal in July was to shoot portraits of bears. I scheduled my visit before the arrival of salmon so that the bears would be in the meadows eating sedge grass and staging in the area, waiting for salmon to arrive. Next trip will be a bit later to coincide with salmon and look more for interesting behaviour oriented around salmon predation and territoriality between adult bears.

This young coastal brown bear (Ursus arctos) was resting and eating sedge grass.

Portrait of a young brown bear, pausing while grazing in tall sedge grass.  Brown bears can consume 30 lbs of sedge grass daily, waiting weeks until spawning salmon fill the rivers, Ursus arctos, Lake Clark National Park, Alaska

Portrait of a young brown bear, pausing while grazing in tall sedge grass. Brown bears can consume 30 lbs of sedge grass daily, waiting weeks until spawning salmon fill the rivers.
Image ID: 19157
Species: Brown bear, Ursus arctos
Location: Lake Clark National Park, Alaska, USA

About Phil Colla

I am a natural history photographer. I enjoy making compelling images in the ocean, on land, and in the air. I have maintained the Natural History Photography blog since 2005 and my searchable Natural History Photography Library since 1997. Here are some tear sheets and behind the scenes views. Thanks for looking!