Grizzly Sow and Two Cubs Grazing on Forest Slope

A large dark brown bear walks across a green, grassy hillside with her head lowered to the ground, and two small cubs follow close beside her. One cub stands at her flank and the other sits a little further along, near a tangle of pale, weathered logs. Behind them a long fallen trunk lies diagonally up the slope. Young pines in soft yellow-green frame the scene, and the light is flat and overcast. The palette is muted, with fresh spring grass, grey wood and the bears' dark, slightly shaggy coats.

The caption identifies the animal as a grizzly bear (Ursus arctos horribilis), photographed in Yellowstone National Park. Grizzly cubs usually stay with their mother for two to three years. She teaches them where to find food, and in spring and early summer much of that food is grasses, sedges, roots and other new plant growth. Adult females are protective, which is why wildlife rules in the park require visitors to keep a safe distance. The wide landscape frame and the quiet, earthy tones suit a desktop monitor or laptop, and the bears sit low enough in the frame that icons on the left will not cover them.