One Year Ago - Bear Cubs were Born!!!

You might remember that I discovered a bear den years ago. It was occupied in the winter of 2009-2010 by a sow with her yearling cubs. Then, I kept a trail camera pointed at it for SIX years before the den was used again. Last winter (2015-2016), it was occupied again. .

My trail cams in the area saw the last sow walk a nearby bear trail at the end of October, 2015. Her movements suggested that she was heading toward the den. I waited until December 10, 2016 to check the den for an occupant. I completely expected it to be empty so I walked straight to the entrance and peered into the murky cave. A pair of eyes was looking straight back at me. I think that I jumped a foot or two into the air!

I quickly retreated and gathered trail cameras that could record photos and video. I revisited the den to set them up. Then, I waited and waited and waited before going back again. I didn't want to do anything to upset the bear.

At the end of February, I returned to the den to check the cams. No sounds emanated from the den so I didn't know until I got home and put the memory cards into my computer that the mother bear had given birth to two cubs on 1/31/16!

Here was the time line of the mother bear's actions.

All through the winter until 1/14/16, the bear ate snow only twice, both times by reaching her head outside the den to take a bite or two of the snow on the ground.

On 1/14, things changed. She began eating snow at least once per day. She wiggled so that her head reached further outside the den, day by day.

Then, on 1/30, she was a restless bear. Her head was visible in the den entrance almost all day.

She ate snow many times. Twice, she walked outside the den. Each walk was only about 6-8 ft in distance but it was an odd departure from her behavior earlier in the winter.

On the night of 1/30, she seemed not to sleep. She looked outside the den, and she seemed to toss and turn until our last video clip at around 11 PM. After that, she was deep in the den, and there were no visible movements to trigger the cams.

The next morning dawned with incredibly strong winds. The tree holding the cams swayed in the wind, which triggered a cam to record video and audio. The audio told the story - cubs had been born, probably very early in the morning of 1/31/2016!!!!!

You can watch the video here or at Youtube. Make sure that your sound is turned ON!!! The bawling of the cubs tells you the most exciting part of the story!

I know from the accounts of others that the cubs were tiny when they were born. They would have fit into a human hand. The scientific literature says that they weighed about 1 pound when they were born. They spend almost all their time over the first months of their lives latched onto nipples, nursing. They bawl like you heard in the video when they lose their grip on the nipple or are not covered by mom so they get cold.

I plan to follow along with this story from last year. Last year, I severely limited my visits to the den and my cams to avoid upsetting the bear family. Each time I visited, I got more than 100 GB of videos and photos, and I was unable to keep up with watching all of the footage and posting it in a timely way. I plan to post new footage this year, using the "extra" footage that I didn't post last year.

I hope that you enjoy it!

Our Bear Family - A cub rescue by Mom

I captured video the other day showing just how well our bear cub family is doing now. Mom looks fat and healthy, and the cubs are huge! It's so much fun to have followed them from the day of their birth until now.

Today, I'm sharing a bit more of the footage from the den. This footage was from 4/25/16. The cubs had stayed up the entire previous night playing in the den. By 5AM, they were outside the den again, playing and exploring. Just in case I have any sticklers for detail reading this, please note that all times are Standard Time because I couldn't go to the cams to change the time when we switched to DST. That's why it was light at 5 AM (MST).

The cubs were trying to expand their world, venturing further from the den entrance by climbing on the piles of fallen trees all around their den. When my friend and I visited to the den for the last time in March, we guessed that the cubs would start going above the den so we placed a trail cam there. It captured the panic of the little black female cub when she wasn't sure how to get down to the den entrance.

During this mini-crisis, you'll be able to hear both cubs screaming (the chocolate one was hanging onto his mom's leg during the rescue) and you'll be able to hear the soft grunts of their mom, trying to verbally calm them.

Getting a glimpse into such intimate bear family life is a gift. After you see how mom nurtured and protected her cubs from the beginning, you can understand why she stands her ground against all threats to her cubs later in the summer. One summer, this same sow ("Mabel") bluff charged me numerous times when I accidentally rode into the middle of the family. She escorted me away from the tree where the cubs were stashed, while bluff charging me at least 10 times, slapping her front paws on the ground, and snorting. I knew that I'd be fine as long as I walked calmly away from the cubs - which I did!

Here's the video of the cub rescue way back on 4/25/16, when the family was still living in and around the den. You can watch it here or at Youtube.
Tomorrow, I hope to show you footage of the family from a few days ago. At first, I thought that the cubs were yearlings because they have suddenly grown so fast! It makes me smile!

More Bear Den Fun and Games

Today, I am sharing another installment of the bear family at their den in late April. That was the time frame when the cubs became mobile. They weren't climbing big trees yet but they seemed to love playing with each other and "bouldering" on the small rocks and fallen trees near the den entrance.

The cubs have absolutely incredible energy levels!

I can see what a big difference it makes to have a sibling. Several sows in our neck of the woods have only one cub this year. I bet that being a bear mom is a lot harder with a solo cub!

The cubs did not only play during the day. They played all night too! They'd take short naps when my cams would pick up no activity but then start again within an hour or so. Here they were at 11:30 at night!

The chocolate male cub was working on pulling himself up onto a branch while his sister watched.

Poor mom got no sleep. She stayed in the den with her eyes open all the time that the cubs played at night.

I am including a video to show the cubs playing. It also shows mom taking a walk and coming back with a single pine branch. It seemed bizarre to see her carefully pull the branch into the den with her. I've always thought that the floor of the den looks like a very hard surface to spend an entire winter lying on. There's not much forest duff to drag into the den to make a soft bed. But I hardly think that one pine branch would help much!

You can watch the video here or at Youtube. Enjoy!

A wild afternoon in April at the bear den

I'm spending one afternoon per week going through the 150 GB of footage from the bear den this spring. April 24th was a day of constant play with careful supervision by mom. I already showed you some footage from earlier that day.

I liked this part of the footage because the video shows the sincere respect the cubs have when mom tells them to "behave themselves". From the video that is in this post, I know that mom was reprimanding the chocolate cub at this instant.

The chocolate cub, a male, leaned backwards away from her, obviously a tiny bit scared of her very understated wrath.

After the chocolate cub went off to play, the black cub (who I think is a female), snuggled up to mom's snout. The black cub was usually the wild one (and the "troublemaker" as one of you said) but not during the footage from around 3 PM on 4/24.

At this point, the bear family still had a few more snowstorms standing between them and leaving the den a month later. Also, it is critical that the cubs are agile climbers when they leave the den. As you'll see in future installments, the cubs started climbing tall trees in May, getting ready for the day that their mom led them off into the forest.

I hope that you enjoy the video. I sure am loving watching the clips and getting a secret glimpse into the lives of a bear family. I suspect that this past winter will be one that I remember for a very long time due to the bear family!

You can watch this video at Youtube if there's a problem with it here.

P.S. Do you have ideas for names for the male chocolate cub and probably female black cub?

Bear Den Footage After the Escape of the Cubs from the Den

Today, I am sharing a video of the days after the cubs "broke out of the den" for the first time on 4/10/16. They were quite uncoordinated at that time and spent hours trying to climb on tiny rocks and branches.

Then, a huge snowstorm hit on 4/16 and 4/17, dropping 4' of snow on our area. The den was completely buried, and the bears stayed under the snow for four days.  You might remember this photo of Shyla trying to gallop in the snow on 4/17.

Finally, on 4/21, the cubs dug their way to the surface of the snow. It was amazing to see how much coordination they'd gained in those days under the snow. After re-emerging, they could pull themselves up onto higher trees and even play with each other!

Here's the video. It is available here or at Youtube.

I hope that you enjoy the footage as much as I did. I had to pare it way down to make it a manageable length for you!

Fox in the Bear Den & First Cub Sighting

Back to the bear den -- all was quiet throughout March except that a red fox visited the bear den. He appeared to be attracted by the sound of the cubs crying. He stared at the entrance, taking a step or two toward it, and then backing off. When he got close to the entrance, the cubs went silent. He did that for 7 minutes!

Finally, he basically crawled into the den, with only his tail sticking out. I heard no sounds from the sow - no snorts or snarls. When the fox finally emerged, he did NOT have a cub in his mouth. I suspect that the sow hid the cubs under her and had a silent standoff with him.

Then, nothing much happened (the bears were snuggled in the den) until 4/10 - the day that the cubs decided that they wanted to go outside the den. However, mom didn't agree and kept pulling them back in. Here she is, resting between the 43 attempts that I counted of the cubs trying to escape!

All of this is included in a short video. You can watch it here or at Youtube. Although the scene appears quite bright through the trail cam lens - the lights were only infrared so the animals couldn't see them.

I sure hope that you enjoy it as much as I did! I love seeing the secret lives of our wildlife!

Almost Wordless Wednesday - Bear Den Bonanza

I ventured to the bear den today for the first time since early March. I am SO glad that I waited. The family didn't depart until 11 days ago. Here's just a small sample of the 150 GB of footage that I captured. I have lots of video but it will take time to sort through it!

Family portrait

Mom "talks to" the mischievous one while other looks on

Now you listen to me youngster (black cub is upside down)!

The most awkward nursing position I've ever seen!

Dancing!

The Cub Duo - with the same colors as our Labraduo!

Bear Activity at the Den!

Today is an exciting day - the first bear den update! You might remember that I found a bear den 6 years ago that was occupied by a sow and her two yearling cubs.

That den remained empty until this year. There is a smallish bear occupying it. I do not know if she has yearling cubs behind her in the den or not. However, my guess is that she doesn't.

That opens the possibility that she might give birth to cubs in the coming weeks. Bear cubs are usually born in the second half of January in our area.

Here's a wide view of the scene. The rocks form a cave, and the bear had her head up and almost outside the den.

Here's a close-up of the bear. She was eating snow and has snow on her nose.

One camera was recording video, and it captured the bear eating snow for more than a minute on a warmish day. It's perfectly normal for bears to be awake on and off throughout the winter. The last time this den was occupied, the sow came outside to eat snow and urinate about once every three weeks. This bear hasn't walked outside the den yet.

Here's a video of her activity!!! Enjoy.

I can't wait to see whether this bear has cubs this winter!!!

A Beary Exciting Day

I'm afraid that I must digress from the desert again. Today was pretty exciting.

It didn't start out as a special day. Shyla and I were out for sunrise, both of us sleepy. She broke into a huge yawn just as the sun peeked over the eastern hills.

Then she woke up, alert to the world around her, and glowing in the sunrise light that I love so much.

After she and I had a great snow bike ride together and lots of good training, I left Shyla at home while I went out on my own. I had a special mission today - to check to see if a bear den had any ursine residents this winter.

I hid my bike, and I hiked to the den. I was so pessimistic that I didn't even bring a trail camera just in case there was a bear in the den. I had a little trouble finding the den - it's very well hidden. In fact, I didn't even know that I was standing right in front of the entrance until I turned around and found myself eye-to-eye with a sleepy bear.

Here's what the scene looks like. That's why I didn't know I was in front of the den. The den is in the right-middle of this photo, just to the right of the chewed fallen tree trunk. It is well hidden.

After I saw the bear so close, I may have set a personal best for how high I jumped and how fast I got the heck out of there. I would have never knowingly gone so close.

I went and picked up 2 trail cameras from other sites in the forest, one that shoots video and one that shoots still photos. I loaded them with new batteries and huge memory cards. Then, I very warily went to the den again.

I was nervous. The last bear and yearling cubs who used the den were very passive. The mother never did anything more than "moan" when K and I accidentally found the den for the first time and went too close. However, I know that bear personalities are as varied as human ones are so this bear might be very different from the first mother bear who I saw in the den back in 2010 (see the video at the end of that post that shows the bears playing).

All went well as I mounted the two cameras, aiming them as well as I could without walking near the den. They are both now functioning, waiting for the bear(s) to come outside the den. The last time the den was used, the mother bear came out about once every 3 weeks to eat snow and pee.  Then, in the spring, she and her cubs laid out in front of the den entrance and played incredibly cutely!

Here was what the adult bear looked like when I first saw the den in 2010. I didn't take any photos today but today was almost identical. The bear today was oriented exactly the same way, with one eye on me, just like 6 years ago.

At one point today after I finished setting up the trail cameras and was about to depart, the bear did lift his/her head and snorted. I took that as my signal to go far away as fast as I could. I did that, and the bear didn't make any more sounds as I retreated. I then sat silently at a viewpoint far away to see if the bear stirred. It did not. Thank goodness I didn't scare him/her too much.

Back in 2010, I saw ONLY one bear, the mother, all winter long. She was always at the front of the den blocking a view of anything behind her. It's a deep rock den with lots of room. In March, I learned that she'd had two yearling cubs behind her all winter long! Here was a first glimpse of one of them.

And here was the whole family out in front of the den in March 2010. The cubs (on the left) were frisky but the mom looked stern a lot of the time.

The play of the two cubs was hilarious. In this photo, one was lying on his back with his paw pad up in front of the other cub's nose.

Based on the one warning snort I got today, I don't think I'll be peeking in the den, even from a distance, again. However the trail cameras will tell us what is going on whenever a bear comes out of the den!!!

I think that 2016 is going to be a very special year! Perhaps I'll make it my Year of the Bear!

Snow, bears, and snakes!

We woke up to snow, not as much as I expected, but it was still flying out of the sky. Sweet Shyla gazed at the world in wonder. Just yesterday, it was warm and sunny, with Pasqueflowers opening their petals to the sun. Shyla must wonder what's up with the craziness of springtime here!

Snowbiking was quite easy because the snow was wet and sticky. I used my usual "springtime snowbiking trails", and we had tons of fun.

Shyla ran around like a lunatic. She has the spirit of seizing the day, that's for sure!

She even loves it when the wind is blowing snow sideways past us.

During our ride, I spotted a beautiful lattice of aspen twigs, covered in rime ice.

It was a beautiful ride. As we rode, I kept noticing the perfect snowflakes sticking to Shyla's fur. You can see one on her ear here.

Before I end this post, I wanted to answer a few common questions from the past few days of posts. First, some of you asked if I knew which bear was up and about in my photos. I believe that it was Tiny, a humungous bear who has tended to come to our area each fall for the past few years. His pattern is that he dens here, he wanders our forests in the early spring, and then he disappears until the next autumn. He has no white star on his chest, unlike our other huge male who I call Milton.

Last fall, Tiny checked out the den where I had a camera posted year around. He went into the den, which is a cavern below the boulder that he's going under.

He stayed in the den for a few minutes, perhaps "trying it out" as his den for the winter. As he emerged, he shook.

Unfortunately, he then departed and didn't return.

Because I check the den camera only once per year, it's date was off by 2 days (a malfunction) and by an hour. In fact, Tiny passed another camera a little while later. Look at how fat and healthy he was!!! I bet that he denned nearby.

Because I've gone 3 years with no bears using the den where I had a trail camera posted, I decided to take down my camera just in case it is concerning to the bears. I will go visit the den on a very cold day next January, when any occupants will be sound asleep, and I'll install a camera then if there are bears in the den.

The other question asked by commenters was completely different, about whether we're worried about snakes in the desert. We tend not to worry. We've visited the desert for several weeks a year for many years, and I have seen only one poisonous snake in all that time. It was a midget faded rattler - but it was out in the noon heat, a time of day when the dogs are never out running around in the desert. So, the odds of our dogs running into a dangerous snake seem pretty low.

I probably just jinxed us. I hope not!

Summer! And, bears...

We've rocketed directly from snow and freezing temperatures to summer. There is no springtime in the mountains. Glorious blue skies, sunshine, and temperatures in the 70's. Days to savor...

My friend the bobcat who appeared in my post two days ago showed up again directly in front of my wildlife camera. You can see from the look in his eyes that he had a plan for this visit. His plan was to reclaim his territory from me.

In the next photo, Bob the cat was peeing in exactly the spot where I kneel to check my camera. When I arrived the morning after his visit, the ground was still wet and the branches of small shrubs were still soaked in urine. I didn't notice the wet area until I'd knelt in it. I must have reeked of bobcat urine for the rest of my bike ride, an occupational hazard for a wildlife camera nut. Bob wins this round!

K and I have been enjoying summertime bike rides together. Although I didn't mention it, I was really worried about her a few days ago. We tried a tiny bit of agility practice for the first time since her initial paw surgery last September. The next day, K was limping and acting sad.

However, after I gave her a day off from any vigorous exercise, she's been zooming around like a young puppy during bike rides. Her paws seem to be working beautifully!

K, also known as "Goody Four-Paws", has even been mischievous, sprinting away with her nose following hot wildlife scents. Each time, I call her back, and she sprints to me.

So, perhaps I worry about her too much. I can't help it - she's my one and only K.

We'll try agility again sometime soon... but, if it hurts her even the slightest bit, her agility days are over. I can pack up the equipment until the next puppy joins our pack sometime in the future (R doesn't do agility due to elbow dysplasia).

R's paw seems to be healing on schedule too (R's "bad" paw is a hind one so its bandage isn't in the photo below). I must say that we seem to have bad luck when it comes to paw health in our pack!

The mountain biking has been sweet recently! I'm wearing shorts and sleeveless jerseys after wearing full winter regalia and riding my snow bike last week. The feeling of the sun kissing my shoulders is glorious!

Our world has turned green, and the birds are nesting. Flickers nest next to a favorite trail of mine every year. They seem to be sitting on eggs now.

Hermit Thrushes have arrived from far south of here. Their sweet melodies waft from the treetops of pine forests in the mornings and evenings. Their songs are one of my favorite parts of summer. Below, I included the first photo that I've ever managed to capture of a Hermit Thrush. They are called "hermits" for a good reason!

Predators are watching for newborns to snatch away.

Flowers are bursting and reaching for the sun. Bluebells...

Wallflower...

I am on cloud nine, enjoying the sudden burst of summer!

There is also a flurry of bear action as mating season is in full swing. The heart-tugging part of mating season is that sows must separate from their yearling cubs. Sows nurture their cubs, protecting them and playing with them, for the first 17 months of the cubs' lives. Then, they send the cubs away so that they can mate again. I've captured a whole series of photos of a family of bears (a sow and two cubs) in the process of breaking up. One yearling is alone and wandering around looking confused. A second yearling is still with his/her mother. The worrisome part is that the mom and remaining yearling have a male bear with them, waiting to mate with mom. That yearling needs to cut the apron-strings soon! I can't wait to show you the photos and footage but my internet connection is too slow today.

I was able to upload one photo of the yearling cub who has already left his/her mom. This cub tried to mark the same bear whammy tree as the big male bears have marked recently. However, he/she looked clumsy and unsure of how to do it.

I've dubbed this yearling "Socks" because this mostly cinnamon bear appears to be wearing knee-high black socks! More tomorrow...