Vince Shute Bears

Bears are highly evolved, intelligent animals. They are the most intelligent, non-human, animals native to North America. Some believe that their intelligence is on par with that of the great apes or at the level of a 3 year old human child. Like humans, bears are individuals, with each bear having its own unique personality. They often develop relationships or even friendships with other bears. Bears will sometimes share resources or use tools to improve their lives.

At the Vince Shute Wildlife Sanctuary it is easy to see their intelligence . Like this cub for instance. When other bears are around mothers will usually send their cubs up trees for their own safety, while the other cubs where trying to get comfortable in the fork of a couple of branches this smart little bear found himself a nice comfy spot to sit. He is sitting on the top of a bird house that was mounted on one of the trees.



Eventually when it was safe he came down to taste some of the seeds and fruits left by the strange humans, but being a smart little bear he kept close to mom.

More Bear Cubs at Vince Shute

We saw more then one mom with cubs at the Vince Shute Wildlife Sanctuary. The cubs spent much of their time in the trees, where they are a bit safer because they can climb out on small branches where larger bears can not go.




This was one of three cubs that belonged to a mother that was feeding near the deck in the sanctuary. She was bigger and seemed more confident then the other mother bear that stayed at the edge with her cubs. I am guessing that she was an older more experienced mother.

Bear Cubs at the Vince Shute Wildlife Sanctuary

One of the most exciting things to see at the Vince Shute Wildlife Sanctuary is when mother bears bring in their new cubs. In past years Michelle and I have visited at the beginning of the season, near to Memorial Day, or at the end of the season, Labor Day weekend. This year was the first year that we went pretty much in the middle, July 4th weekend, and it certainly payed off.

When we have gone early in the season the mothers have typically treed their young cubs back in the woods and come in to eat on their own. When we have come later in the season we have seen more of the cubs come in to feed with their mothers but by that time they have already grown quite a bit. By going in the middle of the summer this year we got to see a good selection of cubs who were all still fairly small and very cute.

At one point during the evening this mother with her three cubs came to the outskirts of the clearing. Mom was cautious and stayed at the edge of the meadow far from the other bears. While mom was trying to decide whether or not it would be safe to move in closer the cubs would run around her playing and peering curiously at this strange place.

Eventually mom decided against coming in to eat so she turned around and lead her brood back into the woods.

Yellowstone Day 2: Pronghorn, bison and bears, oh my!

Day two, Monday, started out cloudy but cleared up a bit later in the afternoon. As with most days we headed north to the Tower and Lamar Valley area of the park. On our way into the Lamar Valley we spotted a lone pronghorn buck crossing a field. Pronghorn are the fastest mammals in North America with a sustained speed of about 30mph and a burst speed of up to 60mph.

On our way back out of Lamar Valley we ran into a bison jam. The bison jam is a bit different then a bear jam. A bear jam is when everyone stops to watch a bear that can be seen from roadside. A bison jam is when everyone stops because the bison have left the roadside and are now blocking the road. These can last a long time depending on where it happens and whether you are traveling in the same direction as the bison are. On our last morning we spent over 2 hours in a bison jam. This one we only had to stop for a few minutes and we took the opportunity to photo some of the new calves.

Over by Tower we spotted Rosie and her yearling cubs. Rosie is a well known bear that spends a lot of time by Tower Falls. We have photographed her with cubs 4 different years.

Last spring we were able to shoot her when these cubs where new born. Now they have been with her for over a year.

Rosie and the cubs where very playful.

This wrestling with mom and with each other is how the cubs learn. These lessons are very valuable as this summer Rosie will chase the cubs away and then they will be on their own.

Wrestling with cubs can make a bear hungry.

Cubs get hungry too.

Once the cubs are on their own Rosie will look for a mate so that next year we will hopefully be treated to another new set of cubs.