I've walked among bears...

For my first 48 hours here, I was not allowed to walk outside of the buildings by myself. I was trained on bear safety and the various requirements of different jobs we do during the day. I was kept mostly indoors, and by the end of my 48 hours I was chomping at the bit, eager to get out amongst them.... and then.... I was given clearance to walk where ever I wanted, whenever I wanted. That night... I stayed inside.

Stepping into those woods surrounded by bears, by myself, for the first time was a rush...but definitely something I wanted to wait for the morning light to do.

It didn't take long for me to feel comfortable around the bears....

***There are cubbies or springies born this past Jan/Feb weighing only 6-10 ounces, the size of a grapefruit.



Most cubbies aren't given a name as they change so much in their appearance from one year to the next, however, this little guy is named, "Cubby". He is an orphan. He showed up alone at the sanctuary a couple weeks ago. We have no idea what happened to his mom. He is feisty! And cute beyond words. A few days ago there seemed as if there was an adoption battle going on between two females that currently have springies, but Cubby remains alone. If he can't find someone to take care of him over the winter, he probably won't survive.

***Then there are the "yearlings". Cubs stay with their mom until they are about 1 1/2 years old, then they are dispersed (force to leave and live on their own) These newly dispersed yearlings have the look of little lost puppies on their faces. They stay back in the woods, usually stand to eat so that they can run or scamper up a tree at a moments notice and in general, just look lost.



There are a group of 8 or 9 of them that are hanging out together... I call them my "Rat Pack" When I first started to go into the woods they would scamper up the trees or run off at the slightest noise. So... every morning as I was putting out food I would sing the Teddy Bear's Picnic song to them softly and talk to them. Within a few days they no longer feared me and actually started to follow me like puppies. Unfortunately, I had to put a stop to that... but the little guy pictured above has captured my heart and I am pleased and smile each day when he is the first to come out and greet me. I've named him "Mini V" He has a small v shaped chest blaze. There is another bear named Vince who has a large v shaped chest blaze and I like to think that perhaps Mini V is one of Vince's off spring.

***Next in line are the adults... there are young adults (3-5 years of age) adult females (150-250 lbs) and adult males (250 - 650 lbs).

Those that visit the sanctuary repeatedly are named (providing they have distinguishable blazes or features)and data is collected on them. They all have such unique personalities.

Some of the feeding sites are raised beds. One morning the woods was totally quiet... no bears in site. As I leaned over the bed to place a scoop of food on the platform, from the back side, up jumped a young male. His nose was literally one inch from mine!!! We both just froze surprised to see each other. Eventually I got the courage to speak and said, "Didn't anyone tell you about the 10 foot rule?"


My favorite female is Jenny. Jenny currently has 3 cubs and is very mellow. She often brings her cubs out to eat and walk around the sanctuary. She doesn't mind if we get close. Her third cub is a curious and feisty little thing!!! He reminds me so much of my youngest "cub." He is always wandering off from mom... always lagging behind checking something out... and brave... until... mom walks away and leaves him up a tree.. then he is calling out to her.




This Mom is new to the sanctuary and very nervous. She's got three adorable little cinnamon colored cubbies. I got a bit too close when feeding and trying to identify her and she bluff charged me from the tree!!! I'm grateful that she wasn't on the ground.



And then there are the males... big and proud and quite the powerful presence....
Yet, I've seen them play "King of the Mulch Pile", wrestle and tease each other.





The other morning as I was the first to exit the food shed with a bucket of food I had ten males suddenly surround me. It was all I could do to get a scoop of feed out on a site and tell them to "sit and stay"!!! They were hungry! No one told them about the ten foot rule either... not that they would care. Guess that's why the first thing I did upon my arrival was to sign a liability waiver!!! :) No worries... Wolfy will save me ( A story for another day... time to get back to work.)