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  • The winning photo by Jacqueline Sinclair in week one of our Bear Discovery contest

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Week One of our Instagram #BearDiscovery contest was stacked with incredible photos, but there could be only one winner! In the end, photographer, Jacqueline Sinclair, came out on top. Read the story behind the winning shot below...

"Each winter, I snowshoe the Snow Shoe Grind once or twice a week. As I go by their hibernation hut, I always whisper, 'hello' to my sleepy friends. As the temps warm up and the snow melts, my excitement grows at being able to see my two furry friends. I come up to the top of Grouse often throughout the spring and summer. Sometimes I do the Grouse Grind and just go and sneak a peek of Coola and Grinder, but sometimes I lug all my camera gear up on the Skyride just to see the bears and witness what kind of photographs they will offer me on that day. 

On this particular day, I dropped my daughter off at work at a local coffee shop very early in the morning and took one of the first gondolas up the mountain. I walked over to the bear habitat - I was the only person out there. I never saw a soul! Although I did hear the engine of a mountain truck working somewhere out of sight. I had arrived at the habitat before the bears had even woke up, so I had to stand there beside the fence wondering when they might arise. I heard some low moans and looked up just in time to see two giant paws stretching towards the sky in the bushes. Such an awesome memory seeing those paws. They were awake! Their sleepy heads finally made their way down from the forested area and into my view. I have many pictures from that day as I watched their morning routine. What a couple of goof-balls they are. A combination of puppies and small children. They absolutely amaze me and I love watching them. There are many times when I just put my camera down and enjoy watching them. I have so MANY pictures of these guys. I'm trying not to flood your #beardiscovery contest with them. I just like really enjoy sharing them with people. It still amazes me that so many people in Vancouver don’t know that there are orphaned grizzlies at Grouse Mountain. But I’m trying to change that, one picture at a time!"
In honour of our Summer of Bear Discovery, we're currently holding an Instagram contest complete with weekly outdoor related prizes and a grand prize of a complimentary Breakfast with the Bears! Entering the contest is simple! All you have to do is follow @grousemountain on Instagram and share your bear photos of Grinder and Coola, or any photo you've taken featuring bears, and tag it with #beardiscovery. At the end of each week, we'll be judging the photos and selecting a weekly winner! That's it! You may enter as many times as you want and will have an opportunity to win every week from now until October 5th, 2014.