Friday, May 3, 2024

Finally some action. For at least 2 years, now, there has been a family of grizzly bears living in the general area of the Junction Butte wolf pack dens. It is the mother and 2 cubs – now 3 years old. This is unusual for grizzlies as they usually stay with the mother for 2 years before venturing off on their own.

Today, a fourth bear appeared. It was a large male. Male bears will kill the cubs of a female to cause them to go into estrus and be receptive to mating. He followed them around for quite a while, with the 3 constantly moving away from him. He never got close enough to do any harm, but it was interesting to see the “chase”.

Here's a short video of the 3 moving away and looking behind them:



Later, I went out to Warm Springs trailhead for lunch. It's quiet and sheltered from the wind. When I got there, a fox appeared and approached each car looking for food. Nobody gave it any.




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