One photo of a bear lurking behind two unsuspecting fisherman has taken social media by storm, with some people expressing concern at the image.
The photographer, however, has calmly defended his amazing work since snapping the pic.
The picture was taken by 21-year-old photographer, Robert Hawthorne.
The image was captured in Alaska’s Katmai National Park, a national park which boasts a total of approximately 2,000 bears.
Hawthorne says that he has photographed bears a lot in the past and knew that the men in the photo weren’t in any danger.
Since it was uploaded, people were expressing concern at the men’s well-being.
However, Hawthorne told People magazine that he knew the men weren’t in any danger:
“Knowing from experience there that it isn’t a threat in how it was playing out, I had time to take a photo before letting this guy know that he had a bear behind him. And, believe it or not, [the fishermen’s] reaction was simply [that he] looked over his shoulder and continued fishing.”
Katmai National Park employs strict rules to make sure that bears and people can live in peace in the park.
The park has a strict policy on people keeping human food in bear-proof containers (and yes I know this sounds like something out of Yogi Bear) as by preventing the bears from getting a taste for human food, they will typically not bother humans.
Hawthorne went on to say, “I’ve literally been sitting down on the bank, like right where those fisherman are, and I’ve heard something behind me and looked up over my shoulder and had the underside of a bear looking over top of me.
“And that bear even that close to me was doing nothing but looking past me into the water to find fish, and honestly, if he had seen something he liked, he probably would’ve jumped right over me or walked right past me.”
Katmai National Park is very proud of its thriving bear population.
In fact, this week just gone, the park was celebrating “Fat Bear Week!” The park’s YouTube channel described the event as, “one of the best places in the world to watch brown bears fishing for salmon. It’s also one of the most exciting times of the year because this is Fat Bear Week, a celebration not just of fat bears but of a healthy, robust ecosystem.”
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During fat bear week, salmon returning from the ocean, come to Brook Falls in Katmai National Park in order to reproduce and die. The bears gather to gorge themselves on the salmon and acquire most of their annual calories.
Hawthorne boasts an impressive catalogue of amazing wildlife photography which he sells on his website.
Hawthorne’s website features plenty of other photos of Katmai’s many bears. He also hopes that with the photo going viral, he will be able to connect with the two men in the photograph:
“That photo strikes a nerve for a lot of people. You look at it and you go, ‘Oh my goodness, I hope I never have a bear that close behind me.’ But really, I wish [I’d taken] photos following it.
“They looked over their shoulder, and then picked the line out of the water, and stood there looking at the bear as it continued down the bank.”
Hawthorne previously had another photo going viral when he captured this young bear dancing in front of its mother.
Hawthorne’s striking photographs highlight the sheer beauty of nature. And, with more and more species facing an uncertain future every day, it is important to remember why we need to protect the stunning animals that we share this planet with.
h/t: People
