Bear moments.

These are just seconds recorded from the bear family life on one of the river crossing in South Kamchatka Sanctuary (Southern Kamchatka Wildlife Refuge).

Golden eagle that ate too much.

This golden eagle has fought and won a salmon from a Steller’s sea eagle and has eaten half of the fish. He cannot eat any more. It simply does not fit… So the eagle is sitting on top of the fish remains, dozing and swinging from side to side; his eyes are clearly bleary of too much food… But he does not want to leave his catch unattended: as soon as leaves other birds will immediately finish it…

This picture was taken at the Lake Kurile in winter of 2007. I wish I could be there now…

Playing with first ice.

This November at South Kamchatka Sanctuary I was fortunate to observe a family of bears, mother and two cubs born earlier this year. These animals continued with their business even when humans were around: this allowed me to witness several intimate and seasonal moments of their life. Such as this one, where a bear cub is investigating the properties of ice for the first time in his life. 

Read original story in Russian here: http://shpilenok.livejournal.com/153197.html









This is a photo that proves that I'm not the only adult playing with ice.