Nature photographer Robert Martinez spent three years hoping to capture a brown bear taking a nap in front of his camera, something he finally achieved this month.
Wilford the Bear was caught on Martinez’s camera trap lounging for a full four hours in Angeles National Forest as he dug himself a bed and took a nap.
“I know he travels through this canyon on the pathway, so I moved my camera right under a nice clearing where are there some stomp marks from the bears, as well as mountain lion scrapes,” Martinez tells CBS.
“So I knew the animals would come by and probably leave their mark in one way or another, but I did not know Wilford would make a bed and lay right in front of my camera.”
Martinez uses Browning Recon Force series trail cameras that have 20 megapixel sensors and record in 4K.
Martinez explained in a Facebook post that he discovered Wilford’s bed the day after he was using it and “thought how cool it would be to capture him bedding down on camera someday.”
He has been watching this bear for three years, Wilford comes to the area every few months and Martinez has been hoping h would capture a video like this of him for a long time.
“He spent four hours lounging, stretching, making some of the cutest poses you’ve ever seen. If people couldn’t love him enough, they love him more after this,” Martinez tells 8 News Now.
Wilford the Bear
Other posts made by Martinez show Wilford the brown bear clawing and scenting a tree which the photographer explains is how bears communicate with one another, especially during mating season.
View this post on Instagram
“I noticed the bears love to use smell as a form of communication whether it’s rubbing on a tree, leaving claw marks in a tree, or biting a chunk of bark off,” he tells 8 News Now.
Martinez sets up camera traps all around Angeles National forest and picks places he hopes to capture exciting footage of brown bears and mountain lions. He’ll typically look for creeks or specific trees that he knows the animals interact with on the trail.
More of Martinez’s work can be found on his website, Instagram, and Facebook.
Author: Matt Growcoot
Source: Petapixel
