Five minutes in the life of an animal photographer

“In Kamchatka, I managed to capture a very interesting case. A scientist from Germany came to the reserve to study the habits of bears. He used to live in Russia, but, like many scientists, he went over the hill. Not far from the cordon at the mouth of the river, a she-bear with cubs often grazed. She had long been accustomed to tourists who came to the mouth of the river for photo hunting, and did not pay any attention to them. So, this scientist was “luckier” than anyone else, and from the photographs you will understand why,” says Andrey Kireev.

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1. I then asked him: “How does it feel?” To which he honestly admitted that it was very scary. He was very lucky that the bear was calm, well-fed and accustomed to tourists.

2. The shooting took place in August. At this time, salmon spawning peaks, and bears gorge themselves on fish. They are not interested in eating a person (with rare exceptions). If it had happened in May or June, when the bear was hungry, then everything could have ended differently ... Although it is impossible to understand what is going on in the head of even a well-fed bear, with all the desire.

3. I talked to a very experienced ranger on this subject, and he said that he did not trust the bear for a second, no matter how affectionate he may look.

4. I believe that even the best shot is not worth the risk.

5. You ask, where was I? I was standing on the opposite bank of the river with a group of tourists, and we were guarded by an armed huntsman.

6. For reference.

People arriving at the reserve had two levels of access.

The first are tourists and volunteers who can only leave the cordon with an armed huntsman. Because everything around is teeming with bears.

The second are people with free access. They can move freely without being accompanied by a huntsman. As a rule, these are local residents or scientists.

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8. The photographer enthusiastically looks forward at the she-bear with cubs, although it's time to look back.

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