TETON TALES
Volume XVII, Issue # 2, June 16, 2012
Update on the Teton Bears!!
Like a soap opera, these Teton bears are!! On the walk to lunch the other day, I spotted
one of our Wildlife Brigade Volunteers and asked her for an update on the bear
activity. WOW!!! Ready for some gossip?? Okay!
#399 has again not been seen in two to three weeks. Bear management assumes that she is okay, but
you never know! However, now that her
cubs are off on their own, perhaps #399 is taking a much needed vacation!! J
Visitors are still being thrilled,
however, as #399’s daughter, #610 has taken center stage, with her two
yearlings and her adopted yearling (one of #399’s cubs). They keep busy foraging in the sage south of
Colter Bay and were recently seen feeding on an elk carcass. Jim was fortunate to see #610 in her
“educator” role. She placed her back
against a telephone pole and began giving herself a great backrub. But the best part was seeing each of the
three cubs also sidling up to the pole, in turn, doing the same thing.
Another yearling cub, fending for itself, wasn’t as
fortunate to have a mother-educator.
This young bear was successful in taking down an elk calf, but finally killing
it took a long time. One of our
volunteers witnessed the happening using binoculars. The calf cried and cried as the bear
continued to feast on it, while at the same time the mother elk was just
frantically racing to and fro. Gruesome,
yes; nature isn’t all beauty and light.
Meanwhile, Blondie, a grizzly so named last year because of
her color, has two boars courting her, each hoping to become the successful
suitor. And finally, Jim called me at
the trailer earlier today suggesting I take bear spray with me if I decided to
walk down to the Visitor
Center. A bear had been seen wandering around the
employee area!!!
I recently read the following (about bears) in a news
article, something that might be of interest to women everywhere: There
is always the threat of male bears trying to kill her (the female’s) family. They know she won’t go into heat again as
long as her cubs are with her. (
Meaning, I suppose, that when the kids are gone, she is willing to become
pregnant again!!) I am going to learn
more about the physiology of bears. In
the meantime, however, I am glad that our Creator saw fit to structure human
females very differently!!!
Virginia McCall, Park Ranger
Grand Teton National Park
No comments:
Post a Comment