A bear encounter day in Grand Teton Park, Always carry bear spray

We decided to go back to the park in hopes of seeing a bear. Our friend Vickie has taken great pictures of several Grizzly! Earlier, we encountered a Cinnamon Black Bear while birding. It was on trail that usually has posted signs, during berry season. They state that one should carry Bear Spray/However the Wildlife management team had removed the sign and so we decided to take a short walk, looking for birds. On the way out we heard crashing brush and a Cinnamon Black Bear, probably a four-year-old, ran out into the clearing and stopped to look at us. It was about thirty yards away! The bear had new ear tags and a radio collar, so we knew it was probably a bear that had recently caused trouble. As we were only thirty yards away, we knew not to run, never run as you become prey. Instead, I raised my camera and started to take pictures and the bear decided to leave us alone, not the first time this has worked. None of my three pictures turned out, I had just taken pictures of a bird and had my camera on manual focus. Returning to Jackson we drove to REI, and bought their largest canister of Bear Spray, (to go with the one our friends Dan and Barb had given us. Now we have four canisters. For anyone hiking, eveb a short hike, in Grand Teton National Park, ALWAYS CARRY BEAR SPRAY! We will. We were lucky. Ps Last weeks Grizzly Bear attack in Yellowstone National Park, was on a trail that had been closed and had just been reopened. It appears that the grizzly might have been protecting a kill. They will often cover a kill/carcass with brush, and lay on it. That’s one of our fears when hiking, surprising a bear on its kill or encountering a cub.

Part 1 Continued, A bear and a coyote at Grand Teton National Park

From the moose encounter we next headed to a place where our friends had seen a black bear. As we neared the location, we saw a large number of people taking pictures and watching something below by a pond. Parking we grabbed our cameras and looking down could see a black bear munching berries. It would bite on a branch and then pull the branch through its teeth stripping the berries into its mouth. The bear was unconcerned about all the people and moved about the branches. As it neared the top of the small tree it slipped and fell but caught itself and climbed back up.

Nearing the top its head and shoulders were visible, which is a rarity when they are eating in thick brush. Finally filling up for the moment, it climbed down to take a long drink from a small stream below us. After slaking its thirst, it moved toward the people but stopped and decided it would be better off to go back to the first tree and make sure it had gleaned all of the berries. Its typical bear behavior, eat till its stomach is full, then take a long drink from a nearby pond, before returning to fill up.

The bears are all in hyperphagia and will eat for up to twenty two hours each day. Several years back we watched a bear go for a swim before returning to eating berries). This is the time the females eat enough to be sure that the fetuses will grow inside them and emerge as cubs next year. The sows, if not fat enough, will reabsorb the fetuses and will not produce cubs, (by the way the sows will mate with multiple boars and may have multiple fathers in their litter of cubs.

After taking lots of pictures we decided to go looking for a grizzly bear, Driving to Leeks Marina without spotting any grizzlies we saw a member of the wildlife Management team parking at a place where we have seen grizzlies. Pulling in we waited but no grizzly appeared and so we drove to Pilgrim Creek. Nothing was happening and returning to where we had spent time waiting, we saw people rushing to watch a grizzly bear, bear 1063, as it was heading into the woods. Getting back in the car we drove to Pilgrim Creek where the bear might be headed.

The only excitement at Pilgrim Creek was a lone coyote that paraded in front of us. It was wearing a collar which is never a good sign for its survival. Coyotes and Fox are only collared when they start to eat human food, they have been fed! If they continue to eat people food, they will be euthanized. If you feed wildlife, remember a fed critter is a dead critter, be it bears, coyotes, fox, etc. You might as well shoot it, you are not doing any kindness. The last sight of the day was that of a rescue helicopter with two first responders hanging below it on a long rope. If you blow up the picture you can see them dangling far below the copter.

What a ride!It had been a great day watching four moose, a bear, and a coyote. Time to head home. Clear skies