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# Camera Trapping Grizzly Bears in Montana
- URL: https://thewildjournal.zackclothierphotography.com/camera-trapping-grizzly-bears-in-montana/
- Published: 2026-09-03T14:21:00.000Z
- Updated: 2026-09-12T17:19:26.000Z
- Author: Zack Clothier
- Tags: Stories, Camera Trapping

Ever since capturing my internationally award-winning print *Grizzly Remains*, I’ve been drawn back to a single question: what else is possible with these formidable animals?

Last year, I set out to explore that question by deploying a series of DSLR camera traps in the wilds of Montana, hoping to photograph grizzly bears on their own terms, far from roads and human presence.

The project began long before I set foot in the field. Over the past decade, I’ve accumulated a large collection of data points—tracks pressed into the earth, scat, scarred “bear trees,” well-worn travel corridors, den sites, and other subtle signs that bears leave behind. I studied these records carefully, looking for patterns. Once I identified a handful of promising areas, I returned to them on foot, searching for fresh sign that suggested the bears were still moving through.

![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/61/c7610679-8285-4021-b49a-f941201218b0/content/images/2026/09/grizzly-bear-tracks-in-montana-1.jpg)

Grizzly bear tracks in the mud

With a few strong locations narrowed down, I began installing the camera traps. I returned several times each month to check the equipment and make sure everything was still functioning. Bears, especially black bears, have a talent for dismantling camera setups, and I wanted to minimize downtime caused by dead batteries or curious paws knocking things around.

About a week after the cameras went live, grizzlies began appearing on a few of them.

![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/61/c7610679-8285-4021-b49a-f941201218b0/content/images/2026/09/Camera-trap-grizzly-bears-2-1.jpg)

Camera trapping is always an exercise in patience and luck. Often times the bears passed through too quickly, were headed in the wrong direction, or arrived under the cover of darkness. Sometimes the cameras recorded nothing at all. Still, there were a handful of moments when the bears moved through during daylight hours, offering brief but compelling glimpses into their lives.

![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/61/c7610679-8285-4021-b49a-f941201218b0/content/images/2026/09/Camera-trap-grizzly-bears-1.jpg)

A grizzly walks into the frame on a summer evening.

As spring gave way to summer, one location consistently produced activity. A few of the bears, however, seemed a bit uneasy around the cameras. During one maintenance visit, I spent extra time studying the scene, searching for a way to better conceal my setup.

A fallen tree crossing the path offered the solution.

![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/61/c7610679-8285-4021-b49a-f941201218b0/content/images/2026/09/dslr-camera-trap-under-log.jpg)

My camera trap set up beneath a fallen tree, before the natural camouflage was applied.

I secured the camera beneath it, tucking it out of sight. A few weeks later, I captured the image I had envisioned: an older, pale-blond grizzly passing through the frame at night, unaware of the lens hidden beneath the fallen tree.

![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/61/c7610679-8285-4021-b49a-f941201218b0/content/images/2026/09/Night-Of-The-Grizzly-Montana-Wildlife-Grizzly-Photography-Nature-Fine-Art-Photo-Prints-for-Sale.jpg)

**"Night Of The Grizzly"* \- Finally, after months of effort, the photograph I envisioned capturing came to fruition.

It was the kind of photograph that made all the scouting, maintenance, failed attempts, and long stretches of waiting worthwhile.

If there is one thing I've learned, it is that camera trapping rarely ends with the photograph you set out to make. Sometimes you get close. Other times the most interesting discoveries come when you aren't looking for them.

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*Some of the photographs featured in *The Wild Journal* are available as fine-art prints through my online gallery |* [Explore the photographs →](https://www.zackclothierphotography.com/?ref=thewildjournal.zackclothierphotography.com)

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