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Friday, July 5, 2013

A Bear Break

I am heading off to bear-land, to learn all about the behavior of wild bears. I hope to blog a bit while I'm gone but I'm not certain that I'll be able to.

Around here, it seems that bear mating season is winding down. Here was the last series of photos of a male and female together. First, the female emerged from behind my trail camera. She sniffed the tree that all the males have been marking.
She didn't stay for long, before ambling off to the right. On her heels, our "new" male emerged from behind my camera.
He sniffed and then walked while rubbing his fur against the tree.
Then, he marked a tree that I've never seen marked before. It's been interesting having this "new" male around - he's been creating new bear marking trees all along this route. I've always wondered how and why new bear trees are designated - and now I think that it may occur when new males show up.
He didn't stay at that tree for long. You can see how he swung his hind legs out in a "cowboy walk" as he headed away from the new tree.
Then, he stood tall to mark the tree that most bears rub against.
In this series of markings, unlike previous ones, the bear didn't grab the branches higher than his head to rub them against his back or even bite at the branches above his head. Some of you guessed that the bear might do that to leave his scent higher on the tree and thus make other bears think that he's bigger. That seems like a great guess to me!

If that's true, they probably all think that the cub who visited recently is the biggest bear in town!
This "bear break" will be the first time that I've been away from Shyla since her arrival. I'm going to miss her and the rest of my pack but the experience should be worth it!
With Shyla in particular, the prospect of being away from her has made me realize how close we've become. That's a wonderful realization after a very tough year.

20 comments:

  1. Oh I hope you enjoy your Bear time away. Sounds very interesting and hope we get to hear about it. No doubt Shyla, as well as the rest of the pack, will miss you very much. Would love to be there to see the greeting you get when you return home.
    Blessings,
    Goose

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  2. Enjoy Bear Land. Can't wait for you to share some of your knowledge with us. I've already learned a lot about my favorite wild creatures from your posts.

    Loved the last photograph of dear Shyla.

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  3. oh my gosh- your going to kinda be living with the bears!
    Shyla will miss you too!
    Be safe.
    love
    tweedles

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  4. Should be awesome, can't wait to see what you have to share.

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  5. I can't wait to hear what you've learned about the bears! :) That picture of the cub in the tree made me laugh. Maybe he will be the biggest bear in town one day!

    I'm sure Shyla and R will miss you, but I bet coming home will be one heck of a party!

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  6. Have a great time, KB! Shyla is going to miss you too.

    Love ya lots♥
    Mitch and Molly

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  7. Have fun! We look forward to hearing about your adventures!

    Sam

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  8. wow, great photos
    i find this all so interesting as well.

    i wish you a great learning experience and time away.

    i am sure you will miss your family
    but will have a grand reunion.

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  9. We can't wait for you to get back so we too can learn more about bears.

    Do they ever try and do bear tagging in your area? Do you ever see Rangers out there?

    We sure hope that Shyla will be a good girl for the Runner while you are away. We know you will miss her greatly, but just think of the pawsome reunion that awaits you.

    Hugs,
    Lily Belle & Muffin

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  10. Oh, you know how we all love details (me especially!) Are you gonna be East or West of the Mississippi?

    Have a wonderful time!

    Jo, Stella and zkhat

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  11. We hope you have a grand time and come back with lots to share. We know Shyla, R, and the Runner will miss you very much. Have fun.

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  12. How exciting, where is the bear-land?
    I Think it is good for Shyla and you to be apart a while....
    Our dogs are so social so our pet sitter wants us to go often so they can have them :-)
    Hugs from us!

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  13. Wishing you well on your Bear-adventure. I love the pictures of the bears marking the tree - particularly the cub.
    Enjoy Bear-land.
    Sending lotsaluv
    MAXMOM IN SA

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  14. Bear-land sounds like a great place to go! Have an excellent time, learn as much as you can, then come back and share with the rest of us, please :)
    I'm sure Shyla will miss you, but it may also give her a chance to find out how strong and independent she really is!
    (Or... she could find out that other dogs get to lay on a futon sofa and watch tv while someone feeds them packages of treats. While I was at a meeting in Sequoia a few years ago, my lovely niece took care of Piper. I called it "Piper Goes to Sleep- Away Camp" and that's really what it was! Piper's view of furniture has never been the same since ;)

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  15. I love the cub up in the tree! Have a great time at the bear study course! I'm sure Shyla will miss you, but will have fun with R and the Runner.

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  16. We'll all be waiting to hear all about it. I know what you mean about missing Shyla. Whenever I'm gone, Sage's always on my mind. Have fun learning more about the bears.

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  17. Have a great time - I can't wait to hear what you learn in Bear-Land! :)

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  18. Hi KB, I know you are away and hope you learn so much. I also hope all the bears stay near you this weekend as we'll be camping in RMNP. Also, my friend, again my hat is off to you for your biking. I know you've been riding for years but I tell you, it is so hard to build up the stamina and strength to enjoy ride 15-20miles at a time. I'm so exhausted when I'm done. I wonder how long it will take me not to be so weary afterwards. Probably by the end of the summer when our biking days are numbered.
    Hugs to you.
    Noreen

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  19. The cub is showing them whose boss. Lol!

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  20. Wow, what an adventure you must be having (or had)! Can't wait to hear/read more about it!

    I'll bet being away from Shyla deepens your bond with each other even more...

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