Bears Beside a Car in Yellowstone National Park 1963

Bears beside a visitor’s car in Yellowstone National Park in 1963, showing one black bear standing at the open window of a white 1960s Oldsmobile while another bear rests at the roadside among the trees. The scene captures a once-common but now strongly discouraged part of mid-century Yellowstone tourism, when roadside bear encounters became a familiar attraction for visitors driving through the park. The car’s license plate, chrome trim, forest road, pine trees and distant mountain scenery all add to the period setting, while the close contact between the bear and the people inside the car gives the image a striking documentary quality. This color photograph records both the appeal and the danger of historic wildlife viewing in Yellowstone before modern park safety messages placed much greater emphasis on keeping distance from bears.