There were a ton of bear sightings this weekend in Yellowstone, both brown (grizzly) and black, although it was often difficult to get shots with the huge crowds of people. This one is a black bear, although its coat is more the color of a grizzly. Black bears can be everything from blondish to almost pure black. The bear had wandered into the little town of Mammoth — which is within the park near the northwest entrance — apparently dragging a young elk kill. For the majority of the afternoon, the bear slept off the feast, obscured from view behind a tree which was behind a park administrative building. People had been set up with tripods and cameras for hours waiting for the bear to move and come into view. I decided to leave the crowd and circle back later. When I returned there was no one around so I figured the bear was gone, but then I saw its paw peaking out from behind the tree. A few minutes later it got up and moved into an open area on the other side of the building. I got low, onto the ground, for this shot, which isn’t always a good idea with bears because it signals to them that you are submissive and perhaps taste good. I felt pretty safe, however, being near my car, and by the time I took the  shot there were a few other people around. As you can see though, the bear was looking at me pretty intensely and this is just before it got up and took about five steps toward me before turning around again and heading back to the elk. From its position behind the tree it looked like a pretty small bear, but when I saw it in the open I realized it was actually quite big.