Little bear

Imagine my delight when I came to the edge of a meadow near Dorst Campground in Sequoia National Park and saw a small bear with its head down, munching away at the lush new greenery, oblivious to my presence. Intent upon its tasty meal, the bear barely raised its head as it grazed, and only after I moved did it notice me and take off running up the hillside into the forest. I moved to get a better view of the hillside and saw the bear was rapidly climbing straight up a tree with its legs spread wide, clawing its way higher and higher. Still no sign of any other bears, and this little one was silent, relying on its instincts of climbing when danger is near.

The little bear kept climbing up and up until finally it reached a large branch offering cover and protection. It climbed onto that branch and lay there, totally hidden from view. I sat beneath a tree and waited for the bear to come down, but after 10 minutes it still remained hidden, so I wandered into the meadow and looked up into the tree to see where it got to.

The branch the little bear climbed to was at least 50 feet above the ground and that little bear just lay there, with its nose between two smaller branchlets, staring down.

Bear cubs typically live with their mother for a full year and get booted out early in their second year when the mother is ready to mate again. This little bear looked about yearling sized, and probably was just kicked out. Sadly, living in a National Park, right near a campground, the little bear may become acclimated to humans this summer, and might become a problem bear in the future. Hopefully, its timidity and wildness will send it deeper into the woods where it can grow up to be a bear that avoids humans.



(Be sure to click that last image to enlarge it!)