A Quiet Summer | English translation below

Shallows

8月14日以降、彼女はカメラの前に姿を現していない。

ナクネク湖を望む最も下流のカメラは、二週間ほど中洲の方を映していた。古くからこの土地に暮らす人々のプライバシーに配慮したもので、毎年この時期に行われている。

そのため、カメラの向きが変わったことで姿が見えないだけで、彼女は近くにいる可能性もあると思っていた。けれど10日以上、その少し上流にあるカメラにも、滝を映すカメラにも姿を現していない。

今朝、下流のカメラはいつもの向きに戻ったが、今のところ彼女の姿はない。

彼女が独り立ちしたのは、昨年のことだ。

彼女の母グマも叔母グマも、夏になるとこの川を離れ、サーモンが集まる支流へ移動するタイプではない。6月に定点カメラが稼働してから再び冬眠に入るまで、

ブルックス滝から、川がナクネク湖へ注ぐ下流域までの間で、ほぼ毎日定点カメラに姿を見せてきた。

彼女ももちろん一緒である。

初めて彼女が家族と離れて過ごした昨年は、記録に残るほどサーモンが豊富で、夏のこの時期、ブルックス川を離れるクマも少なかった。彼女も当然、同じ年頃のサブアダルトたちと戯れながらこの川で夏を謳歌した。

だが、今年のブルックス川は静かだ。

継続してカメラに姿を見せるクマは数えるほどしかいない。彼女の母グマしかいない日もあった。十年間カメラを見続けている人も、この時期にサブアダルトたちの戯れる姿を見なかったのは初めてだと話していた。

姿を見せていないのは、彼女だけではない。

私は以前から、彼女にはブルックス川だけでなく、ほかの場所も知ってほしいと思っていた。例年、9月の初めの週には、クマたちが川に戻ってくる。彼女もその頃には、再び姿を見せるのではないかと思っている。

そのとき元気な姿を見せてくれたなら、この見えない時間も彼女の成長の一部だったのだと、嬉しく思うだろう。

She has not appeared on camera since August 14.

For about two weeks, the camera farthest downstream, overlooking Naknek Lake, had been pointed toward the sandbar. This is done every year around this time out of respect for the privacy of the people who have long lived in the area.

I thought it was possible that she was still nearby and had simply disappeared from view because the camera was pointing in a different direction. Yet for more than ten days, she has not appeared on the camera slightly upstream or on the camera overlooking the falls.

This morning, the downstream camera returned to its usual view, but so far there has been no sign of her.

She became independent last year.

Neither her mother nor her aunt is the type of bear that leaves the Brooks River in summer for tributaries where salmon gather. From the time the bearcams go live in June until they den again, they have appeared almost every day somewhere between Brooks Falls and the lower river where it flows into Naknek Lake.

She, of course, was always with them.

Last year was the first summer she spent apart from her family. It also brought one of the largest salmon runs on record, and relatively few bears left the Brooks River at this time of year. Naturally, she stayed as well, making the most of the summer as she played with other subadults her age.

This year, however, the Brooks River is quiet.

Only a handful of bears have continued to appear regularly on camera. On some days, her mother was the only bear there. One person who has watched the cameras for ten years said that this was the first time they had not seen subadults playing together at this point in the season.

She is not the only bear who has not appeared.

I have long hoped that she would come to know places beyond the Brooks River.

The bears usually return to the river during the first week of September. I believe she may appear again around that time.

If she returns and shows us that she is well, I will be glad to think that this unseen time was also part of her growth.