Young Grizzly Sow and Golden Grasses – Katmai National Park

I’ve written before about the diversity of the appearance (colors, length of fur, ear size, etc.) and the hunting skills of grizzlies. This young female had long golden-highlighted fur, a regal canine-like muzzle, and was a beautiful specimen in every way. Unfortunately for her, though, she was hopeless at catching fish. She couldn’t grab them when they were spawning up the streams, nor did she know that she could retrieve dead ones from the bottom of the creeks and ponds. We watched her chase fish for hours over the course of several days, and she never caught anything. Once in a while, however, she was able to stumble upon a dead carcass that had been caught in the meadow grasses as the tide receded. I like this photo because the grizzly’s long golden fur is echoed in the tall golden grasses, and the whole image seems to glow.