• Tuesday-What'sUP July 27 - 10:35 pm

Today's photos are coming to us from an unnamed source, in an unnamed location, for obvious reasons. This mother bear, dubbed, Theresa, has been visiting this same back yard for 3 or 4 summers. She had another litter of cubs that also grew up eating out of the feeders there and our unnamed source was able to watch 2 of those three grow up, until mom "shagged" them... let them go out on their own. Now this summer, she returned with three new cubs. They started out just waiting in a nearby tree, while their mother ate some bird seed and now, they're eating solid food right alongside mom. My source also said that the father of these cubs comes around, too, but that this time of year he's probably out in the berry fields getting his fill and the females with cubs can't go because the males eat the cubs, so she hangs around there eating bird seed and teaching her cubs the ways of the woods. Cute little jiggers, aren't they?

On a side note, none of these bears have ever done any harm to this source, their property, anyone else or their property either. The bears are afraid of people and would rather just be alone.

These are an excellent group of bear pictures! The baby bears...too cute!

What FANTASTIC pictures and watching them each year has to be so cool....and TRIPLETS for Mom? AWESOME stuff...way to go Bear Watcher!

Cool bears!

What fun that must have been. I'm jealous!

Very cool bear pictures, thank you! My, what big ears you have! Somehow, I didn't remember that bears had ears that big, especially the cubs! That's interesting. Also, these bears look in better condition than some I have seen, who had mangy looking coats. They must be living well.

Nice shots!


Re: those big ears

I think those cubs will grow into their ears. I'm reminded of some German shepherd pups that had the same feature.

-Biz @ Bear Lake, Kalkaska County

I think triplets are rather a rare occurrence for bears!

Sharon Smith says she can smell the bear that comes around her 'Field'....hafta wonder if "unnamed source" REALLY smells FOUR of 'em at once! Pretty pungent, I'd assume.;> I'm sure they're fun to watch, nevertheless.

Great Pictures!

Lovin' those pics. Thanks!

I believe that bears keep growing and the spacing of their ears on their head is an indication of maturity and size. Those are great pictures, I've not seen too many families of three cubs.
On another note the tall ships keep coming past. This morning saw the Europa motoring past on its way to Duluth against contrary winds.

Since this past January I have been following a mother black bear who gave birth to a single cub in a den live online. It has been an amazing adventure to see what goes on inside a black bears den throughout the hibernation and then to see them emerge in the spring. The researchers who study the black bears in northern Minnesota do not tranquilize any of the bears they collar and study. They gain their trust in time and it is amazing to learn about these magnificent creatures. The researchers are trying to teach people about misconceptions we have about black bears (not grizzly bears as their behaviors are different than black bears). I have learned that mostly we fear what we THINK a black bear will do but if you navigate through the following website http://www.bear.org/website/ you will learn about some of the behaviors we fear. The lead researcher has been studying black bears for more than 40 years so he knows quite a bit about them. I hope you enjoy the website and learning about bears as much as I have. I have to admit I have been a little addicted to checking in daily for updates about how the mama bear and her baby are doing (Lily and Hope).

I hate to be the wet blanket on this “cute bear” party, but you might want to Google the phrase “A fed bear is a dead bear” and take the time to read some of the 8 million+ hits it will produce. Intentionally or not, the reason these bears return summer after summer is because they are being fed. I’m sure nobody wants to be inadvertently responsible for the demise of these creatures.

And this is what happens when they become teenagers and start wanting to take the car out.
http://www.cnn.com/2010/US/07/23/colorado.bear.car/index.html

I was wondering how common triplet cubs were up there. I have a biologist friend who saw a sow w/ triplets here in GA a few years ago, and he said they were the first triplets he had ever seen.

So cute, but Gary is right -- it is not good to feed wildlife.

Of course the reason they return each year is because they found food, as anyone in the Yoop who tries to keep a birdfeeder can tell you. I appreciate the anonymity - and the great pics - of the provider. Gary does make a point, and it's taken to heart every year by the bear-baiters who train the bears all summer to return to feeding points they've baited with cooking grease and scraps, only to be shot during bear season by "hunters" who pay the bear-baiters handsomely for the setup. Cryin' shame.

"Don't Feed The Bears". Had a friend that forgot to feed "his" bears one night. The bear tore the siding off of his garage and got in and tore up his car trying to get to the garbage cans. Don't fool around with nature. They were doing fine before we invaded their space.

CMcKenzie,I also follow that website and have a new appreciation for bears. Was heartbroken when Lily left Hope on her own, but glad they are back together for now. Dr. Lynn Rogers and Sue are the greatest and deserve all the recognition they can get for their dedication to these bears. I also am totally addicted to the Lily and Hope site.

A looooong time ago, I lived out in Newberry, a friend had a cub...we were walking into the post office at the same time, and he yelled "Donna...come here" and he opened the passenger door of his truck, and reached in, grabbed a cub in a pamper and handed it to me. OMG...it was ADORABLE...I got ahold of the little guy, and he snuggled right in...nuzzling my neck, little paws wrapped around me...oh he was just the most darling little thing. But oh how he stunk! LOL

About 6 months later, I had a visitor, and took her out to see the cub. It was in the house, and it had grown, and it was chewing on the bottom stop of a circular stair case. Mrs. grabbed a magazine, rolled it up, and whacked it in the butt. That thing whirled around, came up on it's hind legs and screeched....Mrs. yelled..."you get in the corner"...and it got back on all 4's and walked off. Mr. told us "no matter how you treat a bear, they will ALWAYS get one up on you....if you are mean to a bear, it's gonna get just a little meaner"....

And today...there's LOTS of bear out there. It's Oswald's Bear Ranch outside of Newberry. I've not been back since....but I really want to get out there sometime.

Then there was the time, here in Baraga, that I watched one eating bird seed from my feeders...oh boy!!!

Donna, love the story, thanks!

UC

Baiting bears, or any wildwife, just so it's a piece of cake to shoot them as your sit in your cozy blind is not "hunting"! Get out there and track them and let the odds of nature see who wins or loses.