Long beige claws pressed against the rock as this "brownie" made its way along the shoreline. These bears do a lot of digging. Strong tools for moving rocks and dirt were important to a bear foraging in open country. They rip up the soil for roots and mine in the intertidal zone for clams, look under rocks and scrape at barnacles and mussels. In the early evolution of brown bears, retreating glaciers made new land available. A need for powerful front legs and shoulders led to extensions on the vertebrae to accommodate musculature. The brown/grizzly shoulder hump seen in this photo is one of the best field marks to use in identifying bears.

A certain connection with the land comes from watching bears. Perhaps it's because it slows us down. We fall into their methodical and sometimes monotonous rhythms. Three of the last four mornings we've had long sessions watching them consume grasses and sedges, we've seen their every move and heard the same sounds that fill their fuzzy ears. If we watched a cow graze for as long, it wouldn't have the same effect on us. Probably more than anything else, it's because grizzlies are such ominous predators. As the Latin name implies, Ursus arctos horribilis is an animal you don't go "messin" with! Those long claws and that hump of muscle could tear us to ribbons. What a privilege it is to stand here in the safety of our little white boat and admire all that potential.