More Good Ideas from the Bears

Well, they're awake! This morning Kelly & Steve took a friend, Doug, down to show him the bear's den they had found. Kelly and Doug crawled on top of the log and looked down into the den. They could just barely see the bear's outline, but they heard lots of little noises from her CUBS!!! That's right, this bear is a momma! :) So Steve, hoping to get a better look, came around to the entrance of the den and looked in. Just then, he saw a stick move inside. He warned the other guys that she was coming out, and Kelly poked his head down again just in time to see her come right out from under his nose about 3 feet away! Of course, at that point all three guys took off running! Thankfully, the bear ran off in the other direction, only stopping a couple times to make sure the guys were running away from her den and cubs. When the guys got back to the office, they were pretty excited about their encounter with the bear. They said the momma was very big and pretty. I was intrigued by the fact that she had cubs. How is it that she has cubs when she's been hibernating all winter? So, I googled it and found out that although bears mate during the summer, their embryos don't even start developing until they go into hibernation some 4-6 months later! Then, they give birth during their hibernation! What a great idea!!! Of course, the cubs are less than a pound, which to a 400-pound bear probably does not take much effort! Haha! Yeah, the newborn cubs are tiny and hairless and just cuddle up to their sleepy momma and nurse themselves for 2-3 months until their momma wakes up. By that time the cubs are furry and playful. I'm beginning to think that bears really have things figured out. Sleep through winter, pregnancy, birth, and nursing the newborn...the newborns pretty much take care of themselves. After a whole winter of hibernation, the momma bear is very ready to chase after her rambunctious cubs for the summer. Haha! It has been interesting to learn more about bears. It is so amazing how God created them and instilled instincts in them to survive from little 12 oz. cubs to full-grown 400+ lb. bears!!! Well, hopefully we'll be able to get some pictures of these little guys...Steve is going to put his "game camera" out there this afternoon, so we'll see what happens!