Grizzly Bear

By Liz on October 20, 2021

I think … (*** now, 10/21, I know … see the end for confirming email from Fish, Wildlife and Parks)

This morning, I was working via Team (DMing) with a colleague and as I was writing a reply, something caught my eye and I turned to look out the window to my right…

By the time I picked up my phone to get the above photos, Emmett was with me and barking. The bear had been ambling toward the house, but as soon as Emmett barked, the bear hopped right and started trotting away.

I got my big camera … thankfully set to “Auto” for just this sort of thing and shot out the kitchen window.

If you have followed this blog for long, you will know that my wildlife identification can be iffy. Generally, it is a good thing I get at least reasonable photos (moving wildlife photography is also NOT one of my talents …) and have helpful neighbors.

Between continuing with work, texting my neighbor “heads up” photos and general excitement, I didn’t think much about what kind of bear it was. Again, brain stuck on what I usually see: black bears. Black bears come in brown and cinnamon so the fact that this bear was brown, did not mean it wasn’t a “black bear”.

But, then I got a reply text from my neighbor…

Huh…

BearSmart.com … go there (<== link) and then “About Bears” and then “Know the difference”…

So … First photo below is black bears from this spring, flipped horizontally so it lines up with the above and the 2nd photo of today’s bear.

And then … I happened to notice on the very first photo of this post … front claws. Cropped below.

The other indicator is the darker legs and lighter top.

I think my neighbor is right.

I think it is a Grizzly, albeit maybe a young Grizzly vs full grown adult. Still… Amazing to see!

*** This morning, I got to wondering if FWP would want to know about a Grizzly so I phoned. They are overwhelmed with problem bears people, but they said that if I sent photos, they would id if possible. So, I sent a link to this post…