“Pandemonium”
Judy Royal Glenn Photography
A tranquil spring afternoon unfolded in front of me at Cades Cove, Tennessee. A mama sow and her three yearlings were doing what bears do—foraging for food in the luscious green fields.
The bears were causing quite a stir. People were doing crazy things to get the treasured shot. One young lady climbed a tree that we told her had poison ivy on it and she replied, “That doesn’t matter” as she scampered up the tree. Another lady wouldn’t let the bear cross the road and got too up close and personal and the sow bluff charged her.
The story behind this shot was even better. A man climbed in a bunch of shrub trees because the grass was quite tall, and it was difficult to get a good shot of the bears. Then it happened. The mama bear and one yearling stood to their feet and another was on alert. The man fell out of the shrubs and it freaked the bears out.
The yearling in the bottom of the photo charged half-way to the man. No one knew what was going to happen next. Luckily for the man, the yearling came back.
Two of the yearlings shot up a tall tree and one tried to sleep to recover from the scare. Mama bear settled down after standing up once again to assess the scene.
Wow! What an encounter!
To purchase wildlife and nature fine art prints, please visit my website:
www.judyroyalglennphotography.com
Location: Cades Cove, Tennessee in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park
