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Tuesday, September 17, 2019

A Relaxed August Day for the Bear Family

One day in August, our bear family had a relaxed walk through the forest and then a swim. As they walked, Brownie climbed a tree. It was the same tree that Brownie earlier used as an ambush site to launch and landed on Blackie as he walked below it. It seems that Blackie learned from that ambush and did not walk below Brownie this time.

That evening, the family hit a local pond for a very mellow swim. Mom went in the water first.

Her peaceful swimming reminded me of a human taking a restorative swim at the end of a hot summer day.

As she exited the pond, you can see that Blackie had gone into the water with her. He was following at a big distance.

Here is Blackie just before he came out of the water.
It turned out that, around the second week of August, the family disappeared. (I still have lots of footage to share from before they departed). I believe that they headed to a different elevation on our mountain where they could find food. It's been a horrendous bear food year here - so many different forms of nutrition failed. Even the ants failed to produce enough larvae for the bears to even try to dig up ant hills.

I always feel a sense of disquiet when local bears decide to travel. There are roads and cars. There are homeowners who don't tolerate bears. There are so many risks that I can't list them all. I hope that we see this family again before they go into a den so that we can know that they are okay.

I compiled these clips into a short video. Enjoy!

 

14 comments:

  1. the first photo looks like our dad as he tried to break a thin pine tree that way... we hope the bear ended not like our dad on the ground BOL

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  2. Brownie is quite the gymnast and made me laugh, the spa pond is so beautiful, and she looks so happy and relaxed. I pray they can find food before they go to bed for the winter. hope they show up again...

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  3. What a fun video watching momma swimming. That brownie sure was marking that tree. We have our paws crossed that they find plenty of food and have a good winter nap.

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  4. Aw, what a wonderful post. I'm sure they will thrive.

    Thank you for joining the Happy Tuesday Blog Hop.

    Have a fabulous Happy Tuesday. ♥

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  5. I also hope the little family finds food and stay safe.

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  6. Love watching mom leisurely bathe. Only thing missing is the Calgon!

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  7. Beary Beary fun day for the Bears a little exercise before they have to den up.
    I love the video
    Hugs Cecilia

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  8. They really are so darn amazing to see, especially since they can't see us.

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  9. What a cutie Blackie is doggy paddling in the last scene!

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  10. The cubs are getting so big and they are so cute to watch!

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  11. Do the cubs have to 'fatten' up for the winter? Or does mum still feed them? Love seeing them relax.

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    1. Hi - Mom is teaching them where to find food (under rocks, on fruit trees, etc). She is still nursing them. I have a video coming out soon that shows that mom's breasts are still enlarged, and she's still nursing them at least occasionally. That really tells me why she needed to move the family someplace else - she needs lots of food for that family!

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  12. We hope the family will be alright. So sad that they don't even know the dangers they may run across just trying to survive.

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  13. We sure hope this family has found a new safe place. ♥

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