Photos and text copyright Romping and Rolling in the Rockies 2009-2017.

All photographs and text within this blog are copyrighted.

You may not copy or repost any photos or text without specific permission from the author of this blog. When in doubt, please ask.

Tuesday, March 16, 2010

Taciturn Tuesday with cub photos

I'm having one of those tough, painful post-surgery days so my post will be short. I'm sorry that I haven't had time to put together the video clips of the bears yet. But, I'm including a few photos.

K and I reveled in the sunshine this morning despite my sledge-hammer headache. We started in a forest, and a shaft of light illuminated her rich chocolate fur. Her nose led the way up the slope through a thick pine forest.
Then, we emerged onto a ridge and sat statuesque in the warm sun like a pair of predators watching the meadows and boulders below us.
When we returned home, I looked at the cub photos some more. What a cutie.
One warm day, he emerged from the den, played in the snow, chomped some snow, and then returned to the den entrance to gnaw on the wood crossing just above the entrance. Here he is when he first stood in the sunshine, posing for the camera.
Then, he shuffled back toward the den entrance and turned around to grab the log above his head. He began gnawing probably out of boredom rather than hunger. Denning bears rarely eat anything although the cambium of a tree is a favorite food in the summer months.
Here's a closer look at the gnawing cub.
Finally, after a long teething session, the cub let go of the downed tree.
He looked sleepy and then retreated to snuggle with his mom in the den.
I've been calling him a male for no particular reason. His gender makes a big difference in the course that the next few months of his life will follow. Regardless of gender, this cub will be driven away by the sow around May so that she can breed again. She'll breed in early summer but the fertilized egg won't be implanted in the uterus until next winter. And then, the incipient embryo will only be implanted if the sow is healthy and sufficiently fat to give birth and feed a cub or two. Otherwise, it will be lost.

If the yearling cub in the photos is a male, after his mother drives him away, he'll travel a long distance, searching for his own territory where he won't be threatened by larger and fiercer boars. If this cub is a female, she'll stay in our territory, peacefully coexisting with her mother, and perhaps even denning close to her mother next winter. She would bear her first cubs in a couple of years, likely raising them in our forest. I'm hoping that the cub is a female because I'd love to have one more bear in our locale. However, one snippet of video, which I'll post when I finally find the time and energy to deal with movie editing software, vaguely suggests that this cub is male.

13 comments:

  1. Oh yes!

    Quite the cutie!

    Sorry about the headache!

    We'll have some corned beef and cabbage later today to celebrate the cub embracing Spring!

    ReplyDelete
  2. You had a pretty big day yesterday, didn't you? and maybe the day before? Is your body trying to tell you to take it a little easier?

    What makes you think the cub is a male? Did he ask you what your sign was? Offer you a beer? What? tacky jokes? Its my life!

    Cheers,
    Jo and Stella

    ReplyDelete
  3. Those phots of the bear cub are quite, quite spectacular.

    ReplyDelete
  4. what fabulous pics of the bear cub! and very interesting story....
    LOVE the pic of K looking over her domain!
    hope your head is free of pain today! i feel for ya.....
    xoxo

    ReplyDelete
  5. I hope you're feeling better today!

    That bear cub is just so darned cute! I do hope it's a she who stays around a long time. It would be fun to watch her grow up!

    K never seems to take a bad picture!

    ReplyDelete
  6. Feel better. Thanks for taking the time to post more photos of our young bear friend.

    ReplyDelete
  7. Hope today was a better day. Love the pictures of the cub.

    ReplyDelete
  8. I'm sorry you're not feeling so well. As for the cub shots...I love everything about them. I too hope it's a "she", am I selfish? I want her to stick around
    Twinkie

    ReplyDelete
  9. Great cub photos, KB! I keep thinking "boy" but why? Hope today was a better day for you pain-wise.

    ReplyDelete
  10. Never apologize to us when you're not feeling well! I hope today was a better day for you.

    I, too, hope the cub is a female. It would really be nice to track her over a long period of time. Maybe that would be possible if she stays in the area.

    ReplyDelete
  11. Love seeing more of the bear. That would be very exciting if she was a she and we got to see her around "your" forest.

    I do hope you've had an easier day today.

    ReplyDelete
  12. I just spent the past 20 minutes catching up on your blog...Thank you again for sharing your amazing wildlife with us!
    Feel better,
    ~K

    ReplyDelete
  13. Despite the head pain, you managed to get some gorgeous pup photos. And that bear is a cutie. We hope it is a girl so she sticks around. Feel better.

    Woos - Phantom, Thunder, and Ciara

    ReplyDelete

If you are a Blogger registered user, you can skip the step asking you to verify that you are not a spammer. For posts older than 5 days, I have comment moderation turned on.

Thanks for your comments!!!!!