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Monday, June 11, 2018

Courting Bears

A flurry of bear activity took place after this sow marked a leaning tree. This is Mohawk, the sow who we saw consorting with a male bear a little while ago.

Soon after Mohawk marked this tree, the giant of our bears arrived, the bear who I've dubbed "Tiny".
At first, I couldn't figure out what Tiny was doing because it was so odd. In fact, he's so tall that he had to sniff and mark the tree from a sitting position.

He also used an odd marking style on a nearby tree - he rammed into it with his forehead! I guess he knew that little Mohawk was nearby and was frustrated by how hard it was to find her!
Within minutes of these two photos of Tiny, he and Mohawk had found each other and were walking the forest paths together.

They walked to a nearby water hole, and Tiny settled into it for a soak. In the middle of his soak, he stuck his tongue way out at the end of a yawn. It is astoundingly long!
Tiny and Mohawk appeared in front of other cams that evening as they walked amicably together. I'm glad to see our last remaining patriarch passing his genes along.

You might have noticed that "Milton", our other patriarchal bear, has not appeared this season. After a decade of being the number one bear in our area, I fear that he is dead. He usually shows up in April and is extremely active marking trees - but he has not appeared this year. I will hold out hope for a bit longer that perhaps he is hurt or ill and will recover. However, my heart says otherwise. This was the last image of him that my cams recorded.
No matter what, I will always remember Milton. I learned about the amazing ways of our bears during his era.

On a less somber note, here is a video from the escapades of Tiny and Mohawk from a couple of days ago when they were courting.

28 comments:

  1. we lohe mohawk... and it is surprising every time how cute they look although they are mighty and wild animals...

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    1. I believe that seeing that they can be cute and like to live their independent lives (independent of humans) might help some locals who are afraid of bears to realize that we need to coexist if the bears are to survive.

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  2. Love the bears together :) Oh, dear - very sad about Milton. I don't remember - what kind of shape was he in last year? Did he seem sick or injured?

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    1. He seemed great last year. A few years ago, he badly injured a paw and disappeared for a while (a couple of months). That's why I'm holding out hope of seeing him again.

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  3. Awwww, so glad they found each other. Bear love at it's best.

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    1. Yup! Mohawk is a youngster but she seems to be the #1 sow this year!!!

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  4. Tiny almost took down the tiny tree with his marking. Tiny is the Prince Harry of Colorada. royal and handsome. I love to hear the grunts and the way he breathes when sitting to mark the tree. they are both beautiful and I agree with Mark about the cute but mighty and WILD... best watched and heard on my computer...

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    1. I agree about the sounds. I love hearing them.

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  5. It will be interesting to see if Mohawk has some cubs this winter. Maybe Tiny was trying to make the tree where your camera was a new scratching tree?

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    1. I wondered that same thing... maybe he was. That'll make for some funny footage, if he doesn't destroy the cam!

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  6. Hari OM
    Such magnificence... YAM xx

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  7. That is one long tongue! We will cross fingers and paws that you will see Milton soon.

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    1. Yes, that tongue is astounding! I like how he could bend it on the water surface!

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  8. I can't believe how long his tongue is!!! Amazing!
    KZK

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    1. His tongue is almost shocking, isn't it? I guess that's how he can get ants out of deep crevices and holes...

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  9. Oh Milton is one I look for in every post you have. This is so sad. Have you any idea how old Milton could be. I do hope he is ok.

    But what a joy to watch Mohawk and Tiny. Tiny looks so good and strong and healthy. thank you so for sharing.

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    1. I believe that Milton is older than 10 years old but still in his prime. I keep hoping that he'll show up. I started wondering if an adult bear could lose a chest blaze because there have been others who look a bit like him but have no chest blaze... However, it sounds unlikely that he'd lose it so late in life.

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  10. Mohawk and Tiny, a long way to walk when courting, A quick bath to freshen up and on his way again. Hoping that Milton is resting up and will be back again.

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    1. Yes, a quick bath... but I failed to mention that the water smells awful!!! Perhaps female bears like the terrible smell :)

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  11. I so love your wildlife posts. Thanks for taking all the time to document the secret lives of bears. :)

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    1. Thanks Jill! I love doing it, and I'm glad that you like them!

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  12. We love seeing the bears. Poor Milton, we always enjoyed seeing him too.

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  13. How nice to see Tiny doing well - hope that Milton shows up
    hugs
    hazel & Mabel

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  14. Kia Ora KB...hope Milton shows up. Tiny is a treat. Trust you and yours are well. Kia Kaha e hoa!
    Arohanui,
    Robb

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    1. It's great to get your comment, Robb! I agree that Tiny is magnificent!

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  15. That tongue is amazingly long, wow! How sweet how the bears court and look for each other on the trees. It is hard when one disappears and you will never know what happened. We feel that way about a cat we lost almost ten years ago.

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    1. I can imagine how terribly hard it is to have a pet disappear. I will probably be looking for Milton for years... and another bear named Dot who also disappeared. But they are wild animals so I will likely never know what happened.

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  16. The circle of life....alternately heartwarming and heartbreaking, especially in the wilds of nature. We're pretty sure the fox got one of our guinea hens, and we are just so, so sad. Yet we know it's all part of it.
    Jan, Wag 'n Woof Pets

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Thanks for your comments!!!!!