Wildlife in the parks are becoming more and more important for me to photograph with each year. I want to capture an image of the bear, the condor, the spiders, everything. Throughout my stay in Yosemite, I was always talking with my co-workers and friends about the traffic jams that occur when a bear has breached the woods to brave the shoulders along Tioga Road and the Yosemite Valley.
Unlike this Western Rattlesnake, the bear are mostly harmless, and a curiosity to most anyone who has never seen a bear living in something similar to its natural element. Being a seasoned park visitor, I try to take pictures from far away, without obstructing traffic or the bear's normal habits. Everyone else park will see an animal, and park on or only halfway off the roads, leaving doors open as they scramble to turn on their cameras with flash out.
It was pointed out to me that this is still better than a zoo, and that is likely true. If all park visitors followed the rules, perhaps we could both coexist in these places in a more natural way. Now our bear are wary of us, watching carefully and keeping distance when being photographed, and then picking through our trash and cars at night. Perhaps I was too close, since Betty here caught sight of me even at 50 yards away...
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