Salmon is an important part of the fall diets for the bears in the Great Bear Rainforest in British Columbia. The high calories are critical to getting them through the long winter hibernation, and ensuring that they survive. Given that hibernation, which the bears go up to seven months without eating, getting enough calories before going into it is key.

It seemed like this Spirit Bear just couldn’t miss while fishing, and pulled out several very large fish, like this while we watched her fish the stream that morning. Some research has suggested that Spirit Bears actually have better success with fishing than Black Bears because the fish are not scared by a white thing looming above them, but seeing the black on top of the water sends them swimming away.

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Taken: September 28, 2016
Location: Great Bear Rainforest, British Columbia

Camera: Canon EOS 5D Mark IV
Lens: Canon EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L IS II USM
Focal Length: 340mm
Aperture: f/6.3
ISO: 5000
Exposure: 1/1000