Each time I ventured into the estuary there were new discoveries to be made. There were different bears doing different things, under different weather conditions and shifting tides.

On this day I discovered an extraordinary scene: two young grizzly bears play fighting. Had I not seen the two calmly sitting side by side in the water first, I might have been a little scared by the ferocity of their fight.

But it was all play.

It was heartwarming to witness this raw beauty and playfulness in the heart of the wild.

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ABOUT GRIZZLY BEARS OF BRITISH COLUMBIA

As I puttered up the inlet on the small dinghy that would take me into grizzly bear territory, I resisted the urge to hold up my camera and photograph the first bear I saw. It was the experience that was most important to me so I waited, I watched, and I learned.

I knew how fortunate I was to be one of the very few people who get to experience this wild and untamed environment.

This is a place where human activity is severely restricted, and where the grizzly bear roams free in its natural habitat — Khutzeymateen: one of the most remote and protected wildernesses on Earth.

Khutzeymateen Provincial Park in northern British Columbia, Canada, has been protected specifically for grizzly bears and their habitat since 1994. It includes over 45,000 hectares of rugged peaks, a valley of wetlands, old growth temperate rainforest and a large river estuary.

The bears are different here. No bear has been hunted here for 25 years. No bear has been collared or tranquillized and no bear has found food that belonged to a human. No human has gone ashore. For these reasons, the grizzlies here do not see humans as a threat.

Land access is prohibited, as is unguided access to the estuary. There are only a small handful of outfitters that are licensed to enter the estuary, which means that fewer than 200 people per year have the privilege of being here and witnessing the secret life of grizzly bears.

I was one of them.

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ETHICAL WILDLIFE PHOTOGRAPHY STATEMENT

All photographs in this collection were made while adhering to strict Grizzly Bear Viewing Standards of Practice in place for the Khutzeymateen.

Bear guides who are licensed to enter the estuary with guests follow the official standards of practice to protect the watershed and ensure grizzly bears are not disturbed from their daily activities. There are rules specifying the exact location guides are permitted to go, how long they are allowed to stay with an animal, and how close they are allowed to get.

All photographs in this collection were made in the company of a licensed bear guide who adhered to the standards of practice.

As a wildlife photographer, I put the animals first. It is important to me that I do nothing that would change an animal’s behaviour in any way, put any animal at risk, or cause harm to their habitat.

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© Anne McKinnell

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