What the heck was Yellowstone biologist Doug Smith thinking when he took this shot from an airplane of a grizzly bear guarding a dead bison? The bear looked straight up into the camera probably because a plane was buzzing overhead..DUH! Instead Smith assigned other motives to the bear’s stare, demonizing it with this statement to KTVQ:
“As Smith tells it, he was glad his plane made it out safely because he was sure had he not, the grizzly bear had him in mind for his next meal.”
So let me get this straight, a grizzly is standing over a dead bison and looks up at a plane flying overhead and thinks “Boy I sure wish that plane would crash so I could eat the biologist in it with the friggin camera that’s bothering the hell out of me?
Doesn’t Yellowstone constantly remind us not to disturb the wildlife, don’t get too close?
Uh-huh!
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Yellowstone should fine biologist who harassed grizzly for photograph
Incredible photo of a grizzly bear
September 9, 2012
By: Dave Smith
Yellowstone National Park should fine and reprimand wolf biologist Doug Smith for harassing a grizzly from a plane in order to get a photograph. In addition, Smith demonized grizzlies by making an absurd comment about the grizzly bear having “him in mind for his next meal.”
Smith spotted the bear while looking for wolves in Hayden Valley. It’s easy for Smith to find wolves because at least one wolf in each pack is radio-collared. Smith found a pack of wolves fifty yards away from a buffalo carcass. A grizzly bear had claimed the carcass.
That should have been the end of the story. Smith and the pilot of the plane should have just flown away. Instead, the pilot “circled around so he [Smith] could get a get a better snapshot of the grizzly.”
How close did they get to the bear? Doug Smith said he “actually made eye contact with the huge bruin.”
The bear was clearly disturbed about being harassed by the plane. It’s intently staring up at the plane. One news article about the incident was titled “Incredible photo catches stare down between photographer and grizzly.”
READ MORE:
http://www.examiner.com/article/yellowstone-should-fine-biologist-who-harassed-grizzly-for-photograph
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Incredible photo catches stare down between photographer and grizzly
Posted: Sep 7, 2012 9:02 AM by Q2 News
Updated: Sep 7, 2012 10:49 PM
http://www.ktvq.com/news/incredible-photo-catches-stare-down-between-photographer-and-grizzly/
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Monday, September 10, 2012 3:33pm PDT
Even though he was shooting photographs from the safety of an airplane, biologist Doug Smith acknowledged feeling uneasy when a large grizzly bear standing guard over a bison carcass made direct eye contact after the pilot had swooped down for a closer look. Smith captured the incredible image while studying a wolf pack in Hayden Valley within Yellowstone National Park. The bison probably was killed by another bison during the herd’s recent rutting season, in a battle over a female, Smith told KTVQ News. The bear then claimed the dead animal.
http://www.grindtv.com/outdoor/blog/34782/biologist+with+camera+captures+dramatic+stare-down+with+grizzly+bear/
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Photo: Courtesy Wikimedia Commons
Posted in: Grizzly Bear
Tags: Doug Smith, Yellowstone National Park, dead bison, disturbing a grizzly for a photo?, grizzly bear, dead bison, Hayden Valley, Examinerdotcom, Grind TV, KTVQdotcom