My Encounter with Ursus Horribilis

The first grizzly bear of the year was spotted last week by a skier on Specimen Ridge in Yellowstone Park.

It’s probably not the same bear I ran into there some years ago but it may be his kin.

Following an elk trail along the ridge through waist-deep snow, I caught movement ahead of me in the trees and froze in my tracks. A bear was headed in my direction on the same trail. Dark-colored and enormous, there was no doubt as to which flavor he was.

I’d heard it said that black bears are often mistaken for grizzlies, but seldom vice versa. This was such a case. Although he had a nearly black coat...