Photos and text copyright Romping and Rolling in the Rockies 2009-2017.

All photographs and text within this blog are copyrighted.

You may not copy or repost any photos or text without specific permission from the author of this blog. When in doubt, please ask.

Tuesday, July 23, 2019

Very Curious Bear Cubs

Yesterday, I was in the zone, pedaling hard through the forest on a narrow trail. I glanced to my right, and I saw a brown butt and a black butt galloping parallel to me. The thought flitted through my mind, "That's odd. I thought that I left the Labraduo at home.". Then, I realized that the butts were not Lab butts but bear cub butts!

They galloped away from me fast. Meanwhile, my eyes sought out mom. She was very close, perhaps 20 yards from me. She stood strong, first watching her cubs' butts disappear into the forest. Then, she turned to examine me as she stood still and silent.

I took three steps away from her while hauling my bike with me. She watched me unwaveringly, still unperturbed.  After I stood still gazing back at her for five seconds or so, she turned and galloped after her cubs.

It was magical. Bears are my favorite wild animals, and I live for those moments of seeing them in the forest, away from homes. Seeing Mohawk and her cubs with my own eyes was special beyond words. I shouldn't have been surprised. We live in the heart of Mohawk's territory, She's been wandering the forest near our house with her cubs for the past month.

These photos were from a nearby spot. The first glimpse of the black cub in a photo answered an age-old question. Yes, bears poop in the woods! And, cubs like to mess with trail cams.

After finishing his business, Blackie joined the monkey wrench gang, rearranging my trail cam by the time he decided to move on. Here's a close-up of him.

The cubs checked out a mountain lion scent marking spot. Brownie loves being bipedal. She seems to rear up onto her hind legs every time she's on video.

She and her sibling sniffed something together.

At a bear-marking tree, Brownie was standing tall again as she sniffed where so many bears have left their scents over this season and many before it.

Check out the video of this precious pair of cubs. They melt my heart. I feel so lucky that this family is living in our neck of the woods! I don't think that Mohawk will take them very long distances in the quest for food this year so I am guessing that we'll be watching them until they go into a den.

Posted by at

19 comments:

  1. easyweimaranerJuly 23, 2019 at 4:05 AM

    great that we have the evidence now that this saying is true ,O)

    ReplyDelete
  2. DukeJuly 23, 2019 at 5:49 AM

    The cubs are too cute up on their hind legs.

    ReplyDelete
  3. The PadreJuly 23, 2019 at 6:48 AM

    But Where Is The Rabbit

    ReplyDelete
  4. Box Canyon Blog.comJuly 23, 2019 at 6:56 AM

    So cool! Thanks for sharing your trail cam with all of us!

    ReplyDelete
  5. MadSnapperJuly 23, 2019 at 7:10 AM

    I am thinking Brownie thinks she is a grizzly.. ha ha love love love the bear pooping in the woods. now we know. it is exciting that you are getting all these daylight videos of them. so much better than night vision, I can't decide which I like better, bears or mountain lines or splashing moose

    ReplyDelete
  6. Yamini MacLeanJuly 23, 2019 at 8:01 AM

    Hari Om
    Oh my...
    to see them with your eye
    Love of nature rewarded
    even as selfies recorded!!!
    YAM xx

    ReplyDelete
  7. MaebemeJuly 23, 2019 at 8:30 AM

    Gosh they are cute! And growing quickly too. I would have had a heart attack to see the mother bear so close Perhaps they know your scent from the trail cams and realize you mean them no harm.

    ReplyDelete
  8. SandeeJuly 23, 2019 at 11:04 AM

    Awww, they are adorable. You have such wonderful experiences where you live. Beautiful.

    Have a fabulous day. ♥

    ReplyDelete
  9. My Mind's EyeJuly 23, 2019 at 11:15 AM

    Whoa that was a beary close encounter of the furry kind. Brownie is too cute.
    They are having a fine first summer.
    Hugs Cecilia

    ReplyDelete
  10. World of Animals, IncJuly 23, 2019 at 12:05 PM

    They bear cubs are really adorable. We would be a little scared if we were that close to the momma bear. Thanks for sharing your encounter. Have a wonderful rest of your day.
    World of Animals

    ReplyDelete
  11. ♥♥ The OP Pack ♥♥July 23, 2019 at 1:11 PM

    Oh, such fun!!! It appears that Blackie was not too happy with that camera's invasion of his privacy:) Loved seeing Brownie bipedal too. They look like they are growing fast.

    ReplyDelete
  12. Millie and WalterJuly 23, 2019 at 1:18 PM

    How magical that encounter must have felt. Thankfully you realized it was the two cubs and made sure mom decided you weren't a threat.

    ReplyDelete
  13. Nancy JJuly 23, 2019 at 1:31 PM

    They are so inquisitive, sniffing everything there, rolling away the big stones, and the trail cam, thank goodness it was so secure. Two cubs running with you, would that be a first?

    ReplyDelete
  14. My GBGV LifeJuly 23, 2019 at 2:40 PM

    They are just so adorable. I'm glad the mom was not angry about you being in her area.

    ReplyDelete
  15. Bella Roxy & MacduiJuly 23, 2019 at 3:20 PM

    First thought is your cameras must be strong. Wonderful that you got to see the family in person and that it was a peaceful meeting.

    ReplyDelete
  16. QuinnJuly 23, 2019 at 5:25 PM

    This is so good! Thank you for sharing such a special experience, as well as the lovely footage :)

    ReplyDelete
  17. Tweedles -- that's meJuly 23, 2019 at 9:00 PM

    Oh those baby bears are just too cute.. They are already walking like grown up bears!
    love
    tweedles

    ReplyDelete
  18. Idaho PugRanchJuly 24, 2019 at 10:22 AM

    How lucky you got to see them in the furs!! So cute
    hugs
    Mabel & Hilda

    ReplyDelete
  19. Tails Around the RanchJuly 24, 2019 at 1:29 PM

    That little blondie guy is just too darn adorable. Guess that old adage is true...a bear really does ____ in the woods.

    ReplyDelete

If you are a Blogger registered user, you can skip the step asking you to verify that you are not a spammer. For posts older than 5 days, I have comment moderation turned on.

Thanks for your comments!!!!!

Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)