alaskan

WARNING!!! Those of you thinking I will describe how I soiled my underwear will be disappointed.Embarrassing for the BEAR that is.
My opinion poll indicates UH users show interest in photostories so here I go.Please keep in mind English is not my first language and I never took any language lessons.There may be a bump here or there caused by my bilingual brain when Czech and English grammars collide.If you decide my "prose" sucks please give it to me straight so I do not waste our time in the future with more stories.Thank you.

ONE EMBARRASSED BEAR.

It is a beautiful day,I am in a jet boat with a group of Australians heading for LeConte glacier located "near" Petersburg,Alaska.I have been there many times before but you never know ahead how things will go.Yes,you can count on the glacier being there,also icebergs,Harbor seals and possibly Bald eagles but you do not know how difficult it will be to penetrate the ice flow inside the long and zigzaging fjord.Sometimes it gets so bad you do not see water at all,only sea of crushed ice(photo #1,HDR image).No fiberglass or prop boats ever dare to enter this fjord,only jet boats built like battleship have a chance (providing you have a skillful and patient Captain).Not many boats fit the description so there is no traffic,just us and the spectacular nature.Inside the fjord it is common to see Harbor seals chilling out on chunks of ice looking like overstuffed sausages photo #2).Their main enemy,killer whales, hate the surroundings so seals have no worries.Early in the season Bald eagles hang around (photo #3)waiting for pregnant seals to have pups.Eagles eat the afterbirth leftovers or occasional pup.One of our clients noticed something bigger than a seal on one of the iceberg so we fight our way thru ice to get closer.To our super surprise it is a Black "cinnamon" bear looking totally out of place(photo #4).Experts tell you bears and eagles cannot change the expression on their faces but it is not true.We caught the bear with his "pants down" and he knew it.It was easy to figure out what was happening: this silly bear decided to get himself a seal for lunch.He had to swim for it,the water is actually below 32F so he got cold.He claimed on an iceberg and here comes a boatload of people.He jumped in the water and tried to swim to the shore but the cold got to him again.So he went for some shivering break on a chunk of ice (photo #5).Of course we followed him.He hated our guts and was iceberg hopping till he reached shore.He got out of the water,gave us a dirty look over his shoulder (photo #6) and was gone.I bet he will never forget this embarrassing experience and so do I.

rocco_7155 Loc: Connecticut/Louisiana

That over the shoulder look definitely translates to:
"You humans can be A-holes sometimes"
Too funny.... thanks for the story :thumbup:

mommy115 Loc: California

I don't know but to me it looks like he is thinking "what are you looking at!"

emrob62 Loc: NEPA

Beautiful pics and a nice story. (There are plenty of people born in the US that could not have put the English language to better use). Only thought is that maybe you could insert the pics into the story to really let them assist in telling the tale. Great job all around though.

LittleRedFish Loc: Naw'lens (New Orleans)

Cute, funny and down right amusing. Loved it.

Mike Little Loc: Ozark, Missouri

Be careful shooting bears. A buddy and his nefu not spelled right where in Canada and stop to take a pict of a bear 30 yards away, when they got out the bear dropped over the hill, in a few minutes they walked over to see if they could get the pic. When they turned around the bear was between them and the truck. They both went a different direction my butddy was the 25 surviver of a bear attack in Canada. I seen the scars if it wasn't for the other guy with a survival knife jumping on the bears back and stabbing the bear my buddy wouldn't be here. be careful shooting bears please.

Jon Erdmann Loc: Kalispell, MT

Beautiful photo's, thanks for sharing your story as well.

gayellen Loc: Arkansas

Love the story and the pics... keep telling and posting...

Vickie Aller Loc: Ohio and Florida

Your pictures are wonderful. I was in Alaska July of 2010. It is the most wild and beautiful place I have ever seen. (I have been around enough to know rugged beauty when I see it.) Your shots are amazing and I did enjoy your story. Keep them coming.

alaskan

Thank you for your input.I did consider to insert the photos inside the story but decided to keep the text in one piece to keep it flowing.I may try it your way the next time (if there is a next time).

alaskan

Mike,thanks for the warning.I have been attacked by brown/grizzly bears 4 times and met many Black bears as close as 5feet.Check my other posts like "Of bears and men", "Alaska: bear cubs gettig high","Alaska: my favorite bear shots",etc.No doubt many UH members consider me crazy but so far I do not have any body parts missing and want to keep it that way.

Country's Mama Loc: Michigan

Was showing my sister some of your photos when I discovered that I have missed a lot of your posts. How did that happen? Your english is very good. Better than a lot of natives as emrob pointed out. I enjoyed your story very much. Animals of all kinds can change the expression on their faces, you just have to know how to read them.

MissStephie Loc: West Virginia

wonderful pictures & a great story ;)

RiverNan Loc: Eastern Pa

nice story...I go along with the inserted photos if you can figure it out...then you wont have to provide the numbers and it will flow more like a picture book...some words and then pic..more words then pic. Keep up the good work.

SQUIRL033 Loc: Chehalis, WA

gorgeous photos! i don't think i've seen a more miserable, unhappy-looking bear in my entire life!