You never know what you’re going to see. But in or near the Tensas River NWR, your chances of seeing a Louisiana Black Bear (Ursus americanus luteolus) are better than anywhere else in the state!

I have now encountered a bear on three occasions, the last one being in September 2024. After completing a Sunday morning assignment in St. Joseph, La., I entered the refuge from the south and drove slowly north, looking for wildlife and stopping often to photograph birds, butterflies, dragonflies, wildflowers and the ubiquitous raccoons. Tensas rarely disappoints the avid wildlife watcher and photographer.

By the time I was leaving the refuge at the north end, the late afternoon sun was casting a golden glow over everything. Up ahead and on my left, I saw a large, dark, undulating blob also traveling north along the edge of the field that borders the refuge. Bear! I stopped my car and peered through my telephoto lens to confirm. Yes!

So I prepared: turn of the AC fan for silence and to prevent my scent being blown out the window, lower the driver-side window, get the camera ready. I clicked off a single frame from a distance (always get a shot…) then inched forward slowly. When I was in better camera range, I turned the car slightly toward the middle of the road for a more broadside shot, and the bear must have caught that movement in its peripheral vision. It stopped and turned broadside. The camera was ready. I got one, clear, in-focus shot of the bear looking back at me!

The bear immediately dived into the ditch and disappeared in the thick, tall vegetation. And while I sat there in my car, shaking just a bit with excitement, the bear surprised me by coming out of the ditch and crossing the road in full view right in front of me, then ambled off into the fields on my right. I was not ready! But that would have had to be a through-the-windshield shot, which never produces great photos.

Note that the butterflies were spending lots of time drawing minerals from the road on this warm day in September.

#YearInReview