Israeli nature photographer and documentary filmmaker Gil Arbel has spent more than two decades filming wildlife around the world, but a chance encounter in a U.S. forest left even him stunned.
A few days ago, during a morning drive through Great Smoky Mountains National Park in the United States, Arbel, 55, and his partner, Alice Mandel, were on their way to film material for a nature documentary for National Geographic when they noticed a large black bear lying on the ground between the trees.
“We stopped immediately,” Arbel said. “At first glance, we were sure it was a large male simply resting among the trees. I started filming, but then we noticed that it lifted its head and looked upward. Seconds later, one of the most amazing scenes I have ever seen in nature began. One cub climbed down from the tree, then another, and then a third cub joined.”
Only then did the two realize they were watching a mother American black bear, Ursus americanus, with her three cubs. The park, named for the morning mist that often blankets its mountains, is home to about 2,000 black bears across roughly 2,000 square kilometers, making it one of the largest black bear populations in the United States.
“The cubs climbed down quickly from the tree, went over to their mother and started nursing near us, as if we did not exist,” Arbel recalled. “After a few moments, they began playing with each other, climbing on top of one another, rolling on the ground and playing with complete freedom.”
For Arbel, who has filmed animals in Africa, South America, Tonga and other wild corners of the world, the scene carried a rare emotional force. “When you see bear cubs playing in the wild from not far away, you immediately understand why bears are considered among the cutest creatures in the world,” he said. “They have an almost inconceivable combination of wildness and innocence, power and softness, and in that moment I simply forgot I was even there to film.”
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Mother of the three black bear cubs in Great Smoky Mountains National Park
(Photo: Gil Arbel)
Arbel studied photography at Camera Obscura and has worked on nature films in Israel and abroad. One of the films he helped shoot, about whales, won Italy’s Oscar for underwater cinematography and was screened at a nature film festival in England. He has also created the Israeli nature film “Wild Land.”
Yet the encounter in the Great Smoky Mountains stood out even in a career filled with rare wildlife moments.
“Without Alice’s support and patient companionship, without our shared excitement about this journey, this moment probably would not have happened,” Arbel said. “Sometimes nature gives you a gift, and this time it was a bear family. One perfect moment, and a reminder of how deeply the wild world can still move us.”
He also said the encounter reflected the unusual relationship between wildlife and visitors in the park. “It is important to note that, unlike in other places, I found that the bears are not afraid of humans because they know humans will not hurt them,” Arbel said. “It is complete harmony between wildlife and the human presence, based on mutual respect and appreciation.”