The Bear at Black Rock Mountain State Park, GA!

Call me crazy if you'd like, but one of my "bucket list" photo opps has always been to take a picture of a bear in the wild!  And as many of my friends have heard time and time again, I've never wished that this opportunity stemmed from an up close and personal encounter, say while on a trail, or having one stick its head in my tent during the night!  Rather, this opportunity happened in a way that I was most comfortable with...from the friendly confines of my truck.

As we were making our way back up the mountain to the campground at Black Rock Mountain State Park (Georgia), we came across this Black Bear cautiously making its way out of the tree line.  From what we could tell, the bear was eying a Pringles can that someone had carelessly discarded along side of the road.  When we noticed the bear, we slowed to a stop in the middle of the road just long enough to take a few pics.  We did make a few passes, however, and each time we came back by, the bear stood ever so apprehensively within the friendly confines of the trees.  In fact, after a few seconds, the bear would slowly back its way up until it was out of sight if we lingered too long.

When we showed the pics to the Park Ranger, he concluded that the bear was probably a female due to the length of its snout.  Also, he said that there appeared to be some missing fur on the shoulder which is sometimes indicative of cubs rubbing their heads into the area.

As I previously stated, this was indeed a "Bucket List" photo opp for me!  How about you?  Is there a photo that you've been after?  

Let me know.