Sequoia National Park – Bear Pictures

During my early summer visit at Sequoia National Park (June), I saw 6 bears in 4 different occasions.

 

I spend 4 days at the park, doing different hikes and visiting many of this amazing park attractions.

During my hikes I saw bears.

 

Black bears, though not always black, are found throughout Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks.

 

Their natural foods is mainly based on digging up roots in meadows, ripping apart logs, and peering into tree cavities for food as well as berries and grass.

Unlike grizzly-bear Black bears do not hunt for their food. They do not consider, if you keep a safe distance, to be harmful for people.

 

Never touch or feed ANY wild animals, especially bears.

When human food becomes available, they learn to forage for human food in place of natural food.

The best way to protect park bears is to keep them from getting human food. Please use proper food storage when you are campground and when you are going on a long hike.

 

Do understand that predatory attacks by black bears are very rare and have never occurred in these parks but you need to know what to do in case it happened.

 

Few safety tips:

·       Stay together, especially with small children.

·       If a bear changes its behavior because of your presence, you are too close.

·       View animals at safe distances, the length of two city buses or more from animals like bears.

·       Don't get between a female and her cubs.

·       Give the bear escape route and if you can clear his way and walk back.

·       If a bear is approaching you and you want him to stay back make noise (yell, bang pots and pans, etc.) and be assertive.

 

In spring bears forage in and near forest meadows and they are active especially during early morning and the afternoon. Later when there are berries available, they will go to places they can find them, along rivers and creeks.

When walking in the trail look for bear signs, like dead tree bark, bear poops, sound of a tree crash or large movement in the meadow tall grass.

 

 

At this blog I will not describe the hikes and places I visit but rather show here many of the bear pictures I manage to take.