On my birthday trip (August 5-8), we enjoyed traveling along the Blue Ridge Parkway, and then on the Skyline Drive in the Shenandoah National Park in Virginia. While on the Skyline Drive, we had two encounters with Black Bears. Before you panic, let me say that we were never close --and were never threatened at all by them. SO---today, I'm sharing some pictures of these interesting critters.
Above is a picture of a Mama Bear and her THREE babies.... Aren't those little cubs just adorable???? Below are more!!!!
We were driving along the parkway south of Big Meadows at about Milepost 53---when we saw a Mama Bear trying to get across the road.
Now---we could see TWO of the little ones... While watching them, George heard some crying and squeaking out of his window (we were in the car). Here came the third baby across the road looking for its mother. He passed right in front of our car and hid down in the brush... Of course, I missed his picture when he was so close.... Darn!!!!! BUT--the next picture will show you that I did finally get him ---as he 'brought up the rear' --as the little family crossed the road.
That little cub was hollering: "Wait for me!" Isn't he just adorable???? I didn't crop this picture (like I did the other three above) so that I could show you where we were. We were the third car in line ---and I was taking pictures through the front window. That is why these first four pictures are a little blurry. BUT--I'm just glad we saw them PERIOD.... I've NEVER seen three Bear Cubs together before... Have you?????
This young bear was seen by us before we saw the pictures above. We were at Milepost 92 near the Moorman River Overlook. We got out of the car to see what we could see---and low and behold, this bear was enjoying eating in the area below our overlook. He paid no attention to us ---and just continued to eat.
George quickly put the long lens on his camera to catch a close-up of this bear as he scurried on down the hill. I think he was alone ---or at least, we didn't see any other bears in that area.
Since most of us enjoy seeing the wildlife when we are out in nature, I would be amiss if I didn't say that we ALL need to be VERY careful. We do NOT ever need to get close or feed or upset any of our wildlife. We are GUESTS in their habitat.
Hope you enjoyed seeing our "Bear-Encounters"...
Hugs,
61 comments:
That is a rare sight since there are usually only two cubs born at a time. Thanks for sharing this unique encounter with us!
Hi Betsy - Great, great shots! I'm glad that you and George were safe in the Prius! I have a different encounter with the wild that I will post in a few days!
Jane
Although this is exciting, it would make me a little nervous!
You should have brought one of those home for a pet. :)
I love seeing animals in the wild. It is so much better than seeing them in a zoo.
LOOK at how tiny those little cubbies are! Lucky you to see them, and to HEAR their little voices. Poor Mom to have three teeny ones to take care of!
These cubbies are about as young as my favorite baseball team right now! Too cute. You are right; seeing bears in the wild is much more enjoyable when you have some distance and a barrier between you and them! Have a great day!
Great shots, Betsy! How exciting to see the bears. A mama bear with three cubs is so unusual; lucky you. I have never seen a bear in the wild. Thanks for sharing some great pictures.
It's exciting enough to see a bear, but cubs! and three of them?!! lucky you!
How wonderful to experience such an adorable site Betsy! But you are right ~ they are very wild ~ safety first! But they sure are cute.
xo Catherine
I have seen lots of bear cubs but never triplets. Lucky you!! They are so adorable but like you said never interfer with wildlife, especially a momma bear and her babies. Have a blessed day.
Oh I love these pictures but at the same time it makes me sad that these lovely creatures have to live their lives avoiding cars and the like. I was on our highway last week when a cub crossed the busy road. We have many bears and other wildlife where we live and while nature is very beautiful to us, it's a daily struggle for survival for the animals and birds.
It always amazes me when we have temps of -30 and lower and the birds are still out there, having survived another night and trying to find enough food to get through another day and night.
Thanks for sharing these pictures! I have never seen three cubs together before. I think they usually have just two. Have a great day!
my eyes have turned green and i am suffereing from acute jealousy attack. LOVE these bears and want to see them for real. i have never seen bears in the wild. you were blessed to see them.
What cute pictures. Thanks for sharing them with us.
Hi Betsy, Lucky you and George to see the cub triplets. They are so cute! Thanks so much for sharing these pictures.
Oh I loved seeing the bears Betsy! I can't imagine what it's like to see such great animals in the wild like that.
Those babies were too cute!
We live in the north countreee yet rarely see bears! No, I've never seen one with triplets. What a fun sighting.
I'm tellin ya, baby bears 'look' sooo playful & cuddly! I just wanna pick em up & hold em & love em, but momma bear has other plans, huh?!!? Heheheee
They are so cute! What a chore that mama has trying to keep those three together!
I'm guessing that three babies is perhaps not that common.They look pretty small yet.I really like the picture of the bear up on his hind legs and feeding at that stump.
Have a wonderful day.
❀ Ruth ❀
How neat! Your post reminds me of when I was still a teenager. My family was staying close to Old Faithful at Yellowstone. Our room was close to the restroom and shower rooms. One morning as we were preparing to get our car loaded, we looked out the window and saw a big bear going through the trash can just outside the restroom. Of course, there were lots of people rushing in and out of there, and many were very surprised to see this bear busily looking for his breakfast right where they wanted to walk through. Needless to say, we didn't load our car until the bear had finshed his job.
Thanks for the memory!
I love bears. They are so darned cute whether they are babies or adults.
I love bears and these are just the cutest.
Glad to see everyone stopped let them cross the road!!
Great shots betsy. How exciting to see and even hear the babies squeals. I am glad you 'captured' them with your camera. MB
Oh, my ... what a treat! Momma and family. Wonderful!
WOW..that is not something you get to see everyday....thanks for sharing. Trish
Oh, WOW!! Incredible pics! I've never gotten any that close! We've always arrived on the scene just as the bears were leaving the area.
Great pictures Betsy!
We have a lot of black bears in this area. There was a family of them in the woods behind our house but they keep to themselves!
☼ Sunny
How exciting!! Fun to see them from the safety of your car.
Great shots of the bears! I've been close enough to bears twice to get decent photographs. The first time I didn't have my camera with me. The second time I was in the lead, and Bob was following on the motorcycle. It was in July last year, when Bob rode the motorcycle back from where he had purchased it. A bear crossed in front of me. Bob was about a 1/4 mile behind me. We were able to communicate with each other through intercom-like communicators. I said to Bob that there was a bear on the road. He responded "a deer". I said "NO, a B-E-A-R!". Bob never saw the bear. It had gone off in the woods before he reached the spot in the road where I was stopped. Have you ever had an "OH MY! moment"? You have your camera either in your hands or nearby. A photographic opportunity presents itself. But you are so surprised, or shocked by what you see that you don't raise that camera to your eye and take the picture? My camera was lying on the seat beside me. I could have had a great picture of that bear, without using any zoom! Did I take the picture? No; I was having an "Oh MY moment"!
I'm glad you had a close, but not too close, encounter with those adorable cubs and their mother. Wonder where dad was?
I see fall in your header!! Love it!
Best,
Bonnie
What I nice surpries! They are so cute that I can hardly BEAR it!! Goodness, you were in a line of cars, phooey! I love it that you showed us your perspective so we can really see what's going on. Not only have I NOT seen triplets, or twins, I don't think I've seen any!! And they are even breaking into people's kitchens!! That's O.K., I'd rather see none than have one come around my driveway!!! Oh, but the last one, you were OUT of the car and it was there, I hope far away!! You and George are begining to scare me! If you had to run, you would BEARLY make it!! Ha ha ha ha!!!
Betsy: The bear photo are a wonder that I enjoyed.
I NEVER saw a bear on the east coast! You got lucky for sure. How cool is that? Thanks for always commenting on my blog, even when I don't comment on yours, I"m still looking.
Oh thanks for sharing your amazing pictures... I have not seen a bear in the wild since I was a child.
what a lucky find betsy. three---wow.
i once saw a man feeding a bear from his car in the nc mountains. he ran out of food so the bear climbed into his suv and destroyed it.
you were smart to keep your distance from a mama bear.
What cool photos! Great capture. They must be triplets because I've always heard that bears usually only have 2 cubs.
Fantastic photos! Thanks for sharing them.
Hi Betsy, wow! I meet !!!!!!!! You were very brave !!!!!!!!!!!
Hi Betsy, Outstanding photographs of those delightful trio of bruin babyhood! I am so glad you and George had such a good time. Glad to hear that your knee is better. Have a great day today!
Ohhhh, I was wondering if you ran into any of these! We had them come into our back yard when we lived in Front Royal! Great pics...and isn't it just too exciting when you run across something like this! I just love it!
How rare and wonderful for you to see these tiny babies. Aren't they little? Wow, I'm tickled for you - you got some good pictures of them. Diane
What neat pictures, Betsy! How exciting to see them, especially triplets! Thanks for sharing these photos.
:-)
Amazing! Especially since bears usually only have 2 cubs - how neat to see three! Glad you were able to capture the photos - stay safe around those wild bears!! I've always wanted to see a bear in the wild, hopefully one day. (And hopefully I see them before they SEE ME!) :-)
Hugs,
SHelley
Those are great pictures for where you were in line. You are right to be cautious. The stories I have read about bear encounters are not pretty.
How awesome!!! I love seeing wildlife! I could sit for hours and photograph them. And I have had that opportunity a few times....but never bears!!! I've yet to see a bear, even though I've been to Yellowstone and Yosemite.
Thank you Betsy for sharing these awesme pictures!
Have a fabulous day!!
Aw, great photos Betsy. The little ones are adorable. Two is the usual number of cubs for a well fed bear but it triplets are not unusual if food is abundant (ie, handouts from humans).
It is exciting to see them in the wild but I'm glad you used your telephoto. We won't talk about how close I have been to one that was mama sized. http://squirrelqueen2.blogspot.com/2009/03/little-black-bear.html
I had a feeling you'd be seeing bears, I read their were more sightings this year than last, not sure why though.
Three babies, wow ! Mama surely has her work cut out, keeping up with three baby cubs.
The pictures are fantastic, perfect timing !
Wow! Great story about Mama Bear and her triplets! We've seen the brown bear and the grizzly in our province, especially in the Rockies. I'm glad you stayed your distance - but you almost had a traffic jam with everyone stopping for a viewing! Your advice is great! Saw Americas Funniest Videos - youngster had the back window rolled down - the bear put his paws on the window and ripped it right out. They've got more strength than we think!! Best be safe!
That was a treat to see triplet bear cubs. I love taking wildlife photos,their poses are fascinating sometimes.
Have a blessed tomorrow.
Marilyn
amazing pictures....so glad that you shared them...Have a great week
What a treat! For you and George to see the triplets and for us...that you got photos to share!
Love your header, too. Beautiful reflection on the water.
Have a good Wednesday,
Cheryl
How wonderful to see the baby bears! wow! That is so cool to see triplets!
How incredible! We were hoping to see bears while we were in Yosemite National Park but did come across any. We did see many signs that warned motorists to slow down as an adverage of 15 bears a year are killed on the park's roads by speeding cars.
They also warn in the park never to feed a bear! Once a bear associates people with food they have to be destroyed as they become too dangerous.
Betsy, Wonderful photos of the Shenandoah bears. I love the baby cubs. We have seen the little cubs in prior years and trips. I am always on the lookout for bears while driving the Skyline Drive. Most of my sightings have been seeing them cross the road.
What an amazing encounter. So cool!
Oh I'm so jealous!
I think I remember from my research a few years ago that triplets are rare.
What a wonderful sighting!
I can't believe triplets! I am so glad you got photos...
Oh My Goodness Betsy! I don't know if I will be able to take photos of those when I encounter them. I watched in the news last week that a bear attacked and killed a camper. I would surely run. But your photos are gorgeous. So maybe if I was in the car and a camera on hand... I will surely take photos too. hahaha
Great shots of the bears. It's always exciting to see wildlife, and bears are a special treat, especially a mom and 3 cubs!
I've never seen bears in the wild -- including in Alaska!! I know that deer often have twins and sometimes triplets, but have not heard of bear having three! Great shots -- your patience really paid off!
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