Black Bear (Glacier Bear), Glacier Bay National Park, Alaska – Image 2711

Alaska is famous for healthy bear populations and Glacier Bay National Park is no exception. The park features strong populations of both black and coast brown bears. One of the most unusual bears found only in Northern Southeast Alaska is what the locals call the “blue bear” or “glacier bear”. I have seen a couple of these bears in Juneau over the years, but have only been able to photograph them in Glacier Bay National Park. The “blue bear” or “glacier bear” is a rare color phase of a black bear similar to the komodo white bears found in British Columbia. This image is of a glacier bear and is featured on page 68 in my photo book on the park: “Glacier Bay National Park: Alaska.” I plan to run bear images shot in Glacier Bay National Park for the next five weeks. Enjoy the photo and thanks for visiting. Once again as a reminder, I will be leading a small boat photo cruise in Glacier Bay National Park this coming summer with Dolphin Charters (www.dolphincharters.com), July 6-12, 2011. Come join me for a week-long cruise in the bay exploring Alaska. Camera body: F5, Lens: Nikkor 500mm f/4 Film: 35mm Velvia, ASA 50, digitally scanned© Mark Kelley