Canadian Wildlife

Rachelle saw her first grizzly bear while rafting in the Yukon: she rounded a bend in the Tatshenshini and surprised a large fella on the riverbank. Spooked but curious, the bear stood up on its hind legs then stepped behind a reed – a comical attempt to hide himself – to watch the raft bounce by. It was the perfect intro to an animal that is both a sensitive loner and a formidable predator. As Rachelle’s since discovered in the Yukon, British Columbia and the Subarctic, this sentient complexity is typical of many Canadian critters, including polar bears, arctic foxes and lynx – and photographing it is one of her happiest challenges.