In this post we will share the last of Ken LaValley’s cub portraits for their seven-month-old designated birthdays.  This time it is Finnegan’s turn.  He was an interesting subject – Ken said he couldn’t get a single photo of Finn when he wasn’t eating!  You’ll see what Ken means in the photos that follow.  Finn takes his job (of eating to get chubby and healthy enough for release) very seriously.

Finnegan Bear at seven months old. He loves his pears!

In case you’ve forgotten how small he was when he arrived in early April, here is a photo of the six week old cub being fed with a syringe.

The curator stood behind the cub, to prevent him from bonding with the human who was feeding him.

Another seven-month-old portrait of the “eager eater,” Finn.

Finnegan was certainly busy eating during his portrait session!

We have a portrait of all three of the cubs foraging together.

Three cubs at seven months old.

To show why it is possible for our photographer, Ken LaValley, to get such closeup photos of the cubs from quite a distance away, here is a side by side comparison of Ken’s camera with the camera that our curators use.

Ken’s camera has a very large lens that allows him to zoom right in on the cubs.

We certainly appreciate Ken’s professional equipment and his expertise.  His photos are amazing.  However, we think that our curators do a very respectable job of documenting the day to day lives of the cubs.