Orca

Ron NiebruggePhotos 6 Comments

An orca swimming up Endicott Arm, Tongass National Forest, Alaska.

I assume this is a transient orca ( marine mammal feeders) since there really aren’t any salmon streams that I’m aware of, but plenty of harbor seals. The transients can be hard to photograph when heading into a place with seals since they surface very infrequently, and quickly to avoid being detected. The salmon eating orcas are known as resident orcas.

Gray Fox vs. Rattlesnake

Ron NiebruggeArizona, Photos, Travel, Tucson 1 Comment

Did another trail camera photo dump from the @desertphotoretreat Always fun to see what animals share the water hole. I knew a rattle snake was hanging around since I found a shedded skin a couple of week earlier. However, a snake has never shown up in the camera – probably because they are cold blooded. The reason this one showed was thanks to the gray fox.

You can see they interacted for a few minutes. At one point the snake curled up and raised its head while facing the fox. Ultimately it appears they were both just after a drink and in the last photo you can see the fox had no interest in the snake.

Read More

Little Bear Hug

Ron NiebruggePhotos 3 Comments

A Brown or Grizzly Bear, Tongass National Forest, Southeast Alaska.

Here is another image from the epic play session this sow and her first year cub had along the shoreline of the Tongass National Forest, Alaska.

Digging Clams

Ron NiebruggePhotos Leave a Comment

A Brown or Grizzly Bear, Lake Clark National Park, Alaska.

A couple first summer cubs watch on as mom digs for clams in sweet morning light! Lake Clark National Park, Alaska.

Keeping Watch

Ron NiebruggeAlaska, Lake Clark, Photos, Travel 4 Comments

A Brown or Grizzly Bear, Lake Clark National Park, Alaska.

Keeping a close eye on the meadow. Too bad that field of lupine around the cub wasn’t in bloom. The cold, wet summer wasn’t good for some of the wildflowers.

Is it safe mom?

Ron NiebruggeAlaska, Lake Clark, Photos, Travel 2 Comments

A Brown or Grizzly Bear, Lake Clark National Park, Alaska.

Is is safe mom? What is interesting, it can be challenging to capture bears actually looking towards the camera. The bears at the places I visit pretty much ignore humans except maybe for brief moments like with yesterday’s cub. When we do get moments like in this photo, it almost always means there are other bears in the meadow behind us that have the bears attention. Lake Clark National Park, Alaska.