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Tuesday, May 12, 2020

Bear Dancing Begins!

The bears are waking up slowly this year. Only two males have been marking trees so far. This is our young bear who seems to have settled on our area as his home.

This is one of the most popular marking trees in our neck of the woods. Whenever you see a leaning tree like this in areas where bear lives, check the lower side of the trunk for fur. Bears adore marking them!

You have seen our biggest bear ("Tiny") mark this tree in the past. He can reach even the highest part when he's sitting. That gives you perspective on how small this bear is by comparison.

He is sniffing to find out who the competition is for upcoming mating season. He probably won't like the news.

He gradually sniffed higher on the trunk.

Then he was standing at full height sniffing the marks left by the big bears. Don't worry little guy - you'll grow up to be as big as them someday - although Tiny may always tower over you.
As a side note, Tiny has not appeared yet this year. I am preparing myself for him not to show up. In my mind, the odds of him surviving this past winter were about 50-50 due to his very serious paw injury. If he died in his sleep in his den, that would not have been a bad way to go. That's the ending that I'd wish for our grand ursine patriarch. We will see.

On a lighter note, it is fun to watch these bears mark and sniff the trees. Check out the video if you have time!

20 comments:

  1. love it!!!!! it is amazing to see how elegnt this mighty animals can be!

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  2. Hari OM
    Oh joys... but my heart and mind are with Tiny... YAM xx

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  3. What a magnificent creature that big bear in the video is!

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  4. They sure do get into it and they're so much fun to watch.

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  5. It's always fun to watch the bears marking the trees.

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  6. I hope Tiny shows up and surprises you. That is my hope.

    Have a fabulous day. Scritches to the precious pups. ♥

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  7. I'm hopeful like others that Tiny will show up. But if he doesn't I hope he passed away in his sleep.

    Take care and stay well!

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  8. I loved the video. WOW....
    I hope and pray Tiny possibly healed over the winter but I remember he was not as padded/fed for the winter as he needed to be.

    Hugs Cecilia

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  9. i hope Tiny is ok. they always make me smile when they stand up tall and rub on a smaller tree

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  10. We always love bear dancing season!

    We are hoping Tiny makes an appearance...

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  11. Tiny, wherever you are, you have left a legacy for us all, and if you have left in the midst of winter, that long sleep is so well deserved.And if we get the surprise of all this spring, will welcome you once again with delight.

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  12. They seem to chose the 'springiest' trees. I suppose they can cover more area. If it was Tiny's time, that would have been the best ending.

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  13. OH, we love the dancing bears:) And we are going to remain hopeful that Tiny will appear again soon.

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  14. Very interesting that they pick small trees. When we had bears here, they often would mark the electric poles.

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  15. My computer posts things before I'm ready. It truly has a mind of its own. I also wanted to say that I hope Tiny will appear, he's a magnificent bear. If he passes away in his sleep, that would, as you said, not be a bad way to leave this life.

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  16. Bears are quite special to watch - I'm glad you have such incredible video footage to show us :)

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  17. When the bears find out what is happening they are going right back to sleep.

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  18. Bears are so adorable, and we love how they use their front paws to grab things.

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  19. Hee, hee...I think he's doing the Hustle. We'll keep our paws crossed for Tiny. 🐻

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