Young Guns

In September 2020, we spent a week in central British Columbia photographing Grizzly Bears along the Chilko River.

While traveling by boat one day, we came upon a mother bear and her two young cubs. Momma had just finished devouring a 30-pound salmon and was now lying lazily in the shallow water nearby, quietly digesting her feast.

Before settling in, she had carefully gathered a pile of dead fish and buried them—saving them for later.

That’s when we noticed the cubs.

Sitting proudly atop the pile of fish carcasses and bones, they looked like two young guardians—watchful and alert, as though protecting the cache while their mother rested close by.

What struck me most was their curiosity.

The way they looked at us… wide-eyed and innocent, as if we might have been the very first humans they had ever seen.

It was one of those rare moments in the wild where everything felt still—raw, untouched, and quietly unforgettable.

- Stan Masters

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