WATCH: Revelstoke photographer Jim Lawrence got the photo of a lifetime last week and it has gone viral. Jeremy Hunka reports.
VANCOUVER – Jim Lawrence had no idea that when he posted a photo he took of a grizzly bear on his Facebook page, it would get so much attention.
The photo, taken last Thursday in the Revelstoke area, shows a male grizzly bear looking inquisitively through the eyepiece of Lawrence’s camera.
The long-time photographer had set up the camera at an opening in the brush to get a shot of the bear fishing for kokanee salmon in the river. “I should know better than to guess what a bear is going to do,” said Lawrence.
The bear made his way up the bank towards the camera and that is when Lawrence went back to his truck, parked a short distance away, to get another camera.
“They say intelligent species are curious and the big bear was no exception,” said Lawrence.
The bear looked at the camera and then stood up on his hind legs for a closer look. Lawrence said he stood there for some time looking at the camera and then gently tugged on the strap. That caused the camera to tilt, startling the bear, who then took off back to his fishing expedition.
READ MORE: Video of ‘grizzly bear photographer’ shows playful, curious bear
Lawrence has long been an advocate to ban the grizzly bear trophy hunt in B.C. and is using the popularity of the picture to draw attention to the cause.
“Trophy hunting is barbaric,” said Lawrence. “We should not be promoting trophy hunting.”
He said the provincial government should ban the trophy hunt and focus on wildlife viewing, not killing. “The province makes so much more money from bear viewing,” he said.
There are a number of websites and online petitions dedicated to banning the trophy hunt.
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