Trish Boyum Nature Photography

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This photo was taken with a 600 mm lens, and cropped for the safety of this family. Most of what I've learned about Gri...
08/30/2026

This photo was taken with a 600 mm lens, and cropped for the safety of this family. Most of what I've learned about Grizzly bears has been patiently taught to me by this Mama Bear and her cubs, over the 25 years I've been spending time with her and photographing her beautiful, trusting family. In this time, I've gone from hear racing fearful to looking forward to the awe and peacefulness, I feel in their presence.
With my background in human psychology and most of my adult life spent observing, learning from and photographing Grizzly bears, I can promise you that the best way forward with Grizzly bears is opening our minds and hearts about who these bears really are. Bear killers have been carefully crafting fear based narratives about Grizzly bears since settlers came to North America, including but not limited to, in the North American Wildlife Model, which alarmingly, is still used in wildlife "management" to this day. USA based hunting / gun lobbying orgs have been very effective in helping control these narratives, in government, in the media, and on social media. (You've recently seen evidence of this when the Nelson Star was caught off guard by a representative of one of these USA based hunting / gun lobbying orgs, submitted an op-ed. ) Since the trophy hunting of Grizzly bears was stopped in 2017, these organizations have spent untold amounts of money "educating" British Columbians with their fear based narratives. I promise you that the bears are not who we should be concerned about. These bears have SO much to teach us, and none of their teachings are fear based. As a First Nations Chief said to me recently, "this isn't a bear problem. This is a people problem."

After 30 years of observing, learning from, and photographing Grizzly bears in the wild, I've come to really appreciate ...
08/23/2026

After 30 years of observing, learning from, and photographing Grizzly bears in the wild, I've come to really appreciate the many techniques that mama bears use to keep their cubs safe. One that I find particularly fascinating, one that is either overlooked by government biologists and / or is a behavior that doesn't fit into the fear based narratives, is this... Did you know that vulnerable bears such as mums with cubs, newly dispersed cubs, injured bears, old bears etc. may seek safety from larger more dominant bears, by spending time in the proximity of humans? I've seen this in urban areas AND in areas where there are no communities. This is NOT about those fear based narratives around "habituation" and "food conditioning". It is a survival tool, to seek safety among us. What's up Christina Lake BC?, these babies are trusting you. The photo above was taken with a 600 mm lens and cropped, to protect the location of this family.

When we've spent over 2 decades learning from a very special, patient teacher and her daughter (see attached photo), ab...
08/20/2026

When we've spent over 2 decades learning from a very special, patient teacher and her daughter (see attached photo), about Grizzly bear behavior, it literally shattered our hearts when we heard about the Grizzly bear family that has recently been torn apart. A mother and disabled cub, killed by authorities, left her 2 remaining, vulnerable yearling cubs to fend for themselves in the most un-natural way. There is never any credible scientific nor ethical nor moral justification for cruelty.

Where can we go from here.?

Over decades, there has been a lot of great work done around educating people about securing attractants. Yet, here we are, bears still paying with their lives, people still calling the COS when a bear simply crosses their property, the validity of calls not properly investigated by authorities, and community members tattling on bears and each other like school children.

It feels like we are missing the most important pieces of the puzzle: respect, tolerance, kindness and truthful narratives about the bears and how we really can live peacefully with them.
Are “attractants” really the problem or are they a symptom of a more far reaching problem.

Let’s start a conversation about humans becoming humane: how we treat bears and how we treat each other, because when we care about each other and we care about these animals, we won’t make decisions that are harmful to the bears, and in the process, harmful to ourselves.
When we humans are leading with respect, tolerance, kindness and truth, other communities will want to join us. .
Let’s be leaders in the best possible ways.
Let’s learn about bear behavior: who bears really are.
Let’s learn about how fear causes upredictable behaviors in people and in bears.
When we replace fear with truth, transparency, and respect, the bears will be safe... and when the bears are safe, we will be safe, too, in more ways than one.

Please be kind to each other and to the bears, while we figure this out together.

This mother Grizzly bear and her cubs, knew we were there, as we sat at a respectful distance with which she was comfort...
08/02/2026

This mother Grizzly bear and her cubs, knew we were there, as we sat at a respectful distance with which she was comfortable. This photo was taken with a 600 mm lens and cropped, so as not give away the location, for the protection of these bears.
These Grizzly bear cubs are about 4 - 5 months old when I took this photo of them and their mother. They were feasting on the protein rich sedge grass, one of the most important foods for bears when they come out of hibernation in spring in the Great Bear Rainforest. (Bears all over BC eat grass in spring as well.)
This mama bear has a full time job, keeping her little ones well fed and safe while teaching them all that they will need to know. They learn by copying her every move. Because the grass is already very long, both her and the cubs often stood on their back legs to have a better look around and to sniff the air for the scent of other animals and humans.
In this photo, one of the cubs is standing and looking around. You can see another of the cubs in the grass in foreground and how the cubs cannot really see at all over the long grass, without standing on their back legs.
Many people believe that when bears stand on their back legs, it is a sign of aggression, but this is not true. They stand like this to have a better look around.
There are many myths about bears. Fear based narratives are used by those that enjoy killing bears for cash, kicks, trophies and as a guise for bear "management". Currently, it is illegal to hunt Grizzly bears for trophies in BC, but some Grizzly bears are being still be hunted by special interest groups and some are still killed by tax payer funded government employees.
There is much to learn about who bears really are. Stay tuned for some more examples, as we learn to replace the myths with truth and respect.

What do Spirit Bears (Black bears with a recessive gene for their cream colour), eat in the Great Bear Rainforest?Open e...
04/26/2026

What do Spirit Bears (Black bears with a recessive gene for their cream colour), eat in the Great Bear Rainforest?
Open each of the photos below to learn about what they are eating.

For the protection of these bears, these photos have been cropped so as not to give away their whereabouts.

It's Earth Day! This is a photo of a Mama Black Bear and her 4 month old cubs that live in a BC PARKS "CONSERVANCY", w...
04/22/2026

It's Earth Day!
This is a photo of a Mama Black Bear and her 4 month old cubs that live in a BC PARKS "CONSERVANCY", where HUNTING OF BLACK BEARS IS ALLOWED. Did you know that hunting is allowed in many BC Parks?
While the BC Parks website says that Grizzly bears are not allowed to be hunted in BC, (which is not entirely true, given recent evidence), the following species are allowed in the areas where I photograph and where we take clients from around the world: Black Bear
Deer (Mule/Black-tailed)
Wolf
Waterfowl
Cougar
Small game (e.g., snowshoe hare)
If you have something to say about hunting being allowed in BC Parks, please email Minister Tamara Davidson: [email protected]

For a complete list of the many BC Parks in which hunting is allowed, you can visit my personal page: Trish Boyum which is private, so you will have to ask for access.
Please note that hunting trollers will be blocked.

Only a few more spots available on Ocean Adventures Charter Co. & Great Bear II AMAZING trips in the Great Bear Rainfore...
04/02/2026

Only a few more spots available on Ocean Adventures Charter Co. & Great Bear II AMAZING trips in the Great Bear Rainforest. A few spots in spring still available and a very few in fall. You can open each of my photos that I've taken on these trips, and read their short descriptions. You can contact Ocean Adventures Charter Co. & Great Bear II for more info and availability: info@Ocean Adventures Charter Co. & Great Bear II These trips are limited to 4 - 5 guests, lessening the impact, thus allowing guests to enjoy the natural behaviors of these animals. Guests on these trips are never just part of a crowd.

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Courtenay, BC

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