In this video I return to southern Slovenia and am once again photographing bears with Slovenian Bears. This time, Miha takes me to his new hide which he has been testing with great success over the last couple of years. In this hide there have been up to 11 bears sighted in one day. During my visit, even though it is late in the season and the chances of seeing them is much lower, I still get to see 6 bears, including a mother and her cubs from this season.
In the southern forests of Slovenia roams a sizeable population of European Brown Bears. In 2014, a local inhabitant, Miha Mlakar, started setting up special photographic hides within these forests to help photographers more easily spot and capture great photos of these wonderful, but shy animals.
Miha has spent years roaming the forests and learning to track bears and other wildlife. He also got into photography too and began photographing the wildlife he encountered within the forests surrounding his home. By combining his years of knowledge and experience watching and tracking the bear’s habits with his knowledge and skills as a photographer, Miha set about building specially designed bear photography hides. So far, he has built 36 hides all scattered throughout the densely forested regions of Notranjska and Kočevje.
Every year he runs bear watching tours for groups or individuals. You can choose from multi-day tours or simply book a hide for the day. His setup and years of experience means he knew exactly where to place these hides, all done in cooperation with the local hunters and abiding by local laws designed to protect the bears and the people living in the area. The hides are located deep in the forest along known bear trails, and well away from any human settlements.
Miha’s setup offers you the best chance of spotting and photographing these elusive wild animals. Watch my video to see how in one day I am able to watch and photograph four beautiful brown bears and come away with some amazing photographs.
To book a tour, visit slovenianbears...
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24 авг 2024