Every October a little bit of Alaska can be found at Taylor Creek. Taylor creek is a small creek on the south end of Lake Tahoe. It only runs a few miles between Fallen Leaf Lake and Tahoe but this time of year you can find a lot of action there.
Back in the 1940’s the non native Kokanee Salmon were introduced to Lake Tahoe and they thrived. Each autumn thousands of the bright red fish make their way up Taylor Creek to spawn and die. The native black bears, always a resourceful animal, have made eating the fish an important part of their preparation for their long winter sleep.
The bears are concentrating on fattening up and pay little attention to the people that gather to watch them. I made my first trip up there today and was lucky to have the opportunity to photograph this big mama bear and her cub.
I am aware of bear safety. These photos were taken with a telephoto lens from a safe distance. It was amazing to watch the bears fishing, foraging and going about their day as if they had the forest to themselves.
I think I will go back up next week. I heard that as the fish start to die in large numbers even more bears are apt to show up.
Northern Desert Photography 
Really nice pictures! Bears are such impressive creatures.
Thanks for the nice comment and for visiting my blog Johanneslaaksonen. 🙂
cute bears. pity we can’t hug them.
Ha,ha, that would not go so well. 😉 Thanks for stopping in and commenting.
Great photos! Thank you for sharing!
Your welcome and thanks for visiting and commenting. 🙂
Those are excellent shots! I hope that you were using a long lens and not really as close to the bears as what it looks.
I was using a long lens. Thanks for your kind words. 🙂
Not sure what’s happening. I see images but no text.
Sorry just realised the text appears on your blog overview page but not within the individual post.
No problem. Hope everything is working. Thanks for visiting Dragon. 🙂
Forgot to say these are nice images. I’ve never seen bears in the wild before. Must be an amazing experience.
Thanks Dragon. I have seen bears before but from a car or the back of a horse. This was a new one for me and my heart was beating a bit fast at times. 😉
Stunning shots!
Thanks Mark! 🙂
Fantastic photos ! … Bears are powerful animals… Big and beautiful // Maria 🙂
They are big. I was surprised at how large the mama was. Hoping to see some large males next week. Thanks for stopping in and commenting Maria. 🙂
Those close ups are lovely and action packed.
Thank you. They were fun to capture. 🙂
Alison, what gorgeous shots of the bears. I am sooooo jealous. The last time I saw some black bears was a few years back when I visited Smokey Mountains National Park. Then the park was over-run with tourists doing stupid things, like trying to get their children close enough to pet them. Boy, don’t get me started on that…… Anyway, I love your blog, and your glorious photography.
Thank you so much for your kind words about my photography Bob. Coming from you it means quite a lot. I have seen some foolish behavior around wild animals too. We should trade stories sometime. 🙂
We probably could fill a large book. 🙂
Love the photos.
Thank you so much! 🙂
Fantastic captures, Alison!! I love to watch bears (from a safe distance) 😀
Thanks Calee! I was thrilled to be able to watch them. I will be making more trips before the salmon run is over. 🙂
Amazing! Great post!!
Thank you earthstills. 🙂
Beautifully intimate portraits. How far off did you have to be for the bears to remain relaxed and carry on feeding? Just a bit envious.
Thanks hares! I am not the greatest at estimating distance but I would say about 75 feet? I know this sounds close but I was not the closest. The bears made no signs of being stressed by that and I can assure you if they had I would have moved away.
Amazing! Rumor has it that NJ state has just let out black bears in this area to take care of our coyote and deer problem. I just hope I do not see one in person!
Thank you. 🙂 I hope that you only see what you want to see. 😉
Awesome. It must be such a thrilling experience to be so close to feeding bears.
Thanks Mark. It was! 🙂
Love this! I noticed that the ‘closed’ sign was on the entrance yesterday and I didn’t really have a ton of time to stop but I would like to go back and take some photos myself. Did you just park on the main road and walk in?
Hey thanks for stopping in and commenting Ginger. 🙂 Yes, park anywhere close to the entrance and walk in. The rangers are not present and everyone else is going in at will in spite of the closure signs. The salmon viewing chamber is closed because of the park closure but the bears and citizens are all practicing civil disobedience. 😉
Good to know! Bears practicing civil disobedience. hahaha
Lovely
Thanks!
Very nice
Thanks! 🙂
Amazing creatures! Great shots (as usual)
Thanks Cynthia. 🙂
Excellent pictures.
Thank you, and thanks for visiting my blog. 🙂
Absolutely gorgeous! ❤
Thank you Eva. 🙂