With warmer temperatures across Yellowstone (it was in the 40s today at Old Faithful) and minimal snow pack, Yellowstone's bears have begun emerging from their dens.  The Park Service has put out a statement, Yellowstone's Bears are Waking Up .  In it, it states that bear tracks have been seen on the Blacktail Plateau.  This region is a bear management area and is closed in the early spring each year due to bear activity.  I've also heard unconfirmed rumors that a bear has been seen at Beaver Ponds, near Mammoth Hot Springs, and down at the South Entrance.  I've posted a couple of bear photos to kick off the up coming bear season!  These photos are not recent.

The image at the top of this entry was taken a few years ago in Mary Bay.  The young griz looks almost disproportionate with his long snout and large ears.  This image was taken from my vehicle with a long telephoto lens.  The image below is of a cinnamon colored black bear on Dunraven Pass a few September's ago.  Again, the image was taken with a long lens.  The backlighting was really nice and I really liked the result.