Hello Bear!

 

It was late winter 1999 and the bear center had a couple of neonatal cubs that needed fostering to wild mother bears. We had already successfully fostered the cub’s sibling the week before so we were eager to get this cub united with a new mom. It wasn’t going to be long. A female had been located the day before within Great Smoky Mountain National Park and she appeared to be in prime condition having recently given birth to a few cubs of her own. She looked as if she would do just fine. The opportunity seemed perfect so the arrangements were made with the University of Tennessee bear researchers.

The next day, the hike to the den was nothing spectacular from a difficulty standpoint. In fact, it was rather simple and uneventful. It was only about a mile down a well-traveled trail and maybe thirty yards off the beaten path. What always made me smile seeing a den like this was how close by folks often walk to a sleeping bear. I have no doubt hundreds, if not thousands, passed within a stone’s throw of this mother and her cubs and none were the wiser.

The den itself was a typical bear den for the Smokies, made from the remnants of a monarch of a tree. This den, however, was not located up high within the bole of the tree, for the tree itself was long gone. What remained was a behemoth of a stump and a tangle of sturdy deep-reaching roots. I imagine in no time at all, upon finding the remnants on the tree, mom had excavated a nice comfy cavity in the loosely packed soil beneath. The freshly mounded dirt at the entrance of her den still smelled of raw earth and quite honestly, it smelled heavenly.

It would be a few minutes as the two lead researchers, Frank and Don, made careful preparations. Cub in hand, I waited patiently a short distance away for them to sedate the mother. Hibernating bears, though a little groggy at first are still a formidable animal. Common sense also tells us it’s never a good idea for a rousing mother bear to hear a bawling cub nearby by. I couldn’t help but imagine it would get the adrenaline rushing in both the mother bear and the crazy stupid human holding the cub (Me!).

Mother bears, though asleep, can wake relatively quickly.

Needless to say momma went down quietly and Frank and Don begin their work. Their first order of business was to extract the female’s natural cubs and hand them to us so we could collect measurements and apply our secret solution to the cubs, also known as Vicks VapoRub (the reasoning for that process is described in a different blog.) Interestingly enough, cub data wasn’t of utmost importance. When it came to the primary study, one of the key aspects of their research was to collect information to learn more about den selection. This included taking measurements both inside and outside the den. The end goal of this research was simply to find out what makes for a good bear den.

The cool thing with this particular den was that it actually had two different entrances, one in the front and a less conspicuous smaller entrance in the back. I guess given the proximity of the den to the hiking trail, if the bear wanted a way to make a hasty retreat should she need it, she could simply scoot out the back. Fortunately the hole in the rear of the den was just large enough for the second researcher, Don, to crawl into, but just barely. His job was to replace the radio collar that was on the female’s neck since its battery life was just about up. This was an ideal situation since with two people working together to collect the information and replace the collar, it was only going to take half the amount of time had only one person been able to crawl inside the den.

Enter the importance of communication!

 

A typical day doing bear den work.

 

As we stood outside, the view was quite comical with only Frank’s legs from the knee down protruding from the den entrance. Don was in a similar position on the opposite side of the tree. Their bodies looked like two human tent spikes staking in the tree stump. What was fascinating to think about however, was that between the two of them lie a 200+ pound black bear momma quietly sleeping away with the help of a little bit of drug. Regardless of the certainty of the drug concoction, it had to be a pretty intense time.

 

That was when it happened.

 

There were three of us standing there with cubs in hand and before we knew what happened, there were four of us.

 

Frank had appeared in the blink of an eye.

 

Not only was he looking a little bit white but he was wild-eyed with multiple leaves stuck in his hair. It honestly looked as if he saw a ghost!

 

“What happened down there?” We asked excitedly.

 

“Mom’s waking up!”

 

In a mad scramble to help Don who was still down there we heard giggles that assured us he was okay.

 

Remember that part about communication?

 

Since Frank and Don were on opposite ends of the den with a bear in between, they couldn’t see what each other was doing. As Frank was measuring the height of the middle interior of the den, he was pretty much lying right up against the bear. As Frank looked up to record the measurement, momma bear also lifted her head and stared directly into Frank’s eyes.

 

Hello Bear!!!

 

It was then that Frank, using his abdominal muscles only, made a hasty retreat in 0.23 seconds flat. A feat even Usain Bolt would be proud of! What Frank didn’t know, was that it was Don that lifted her head to remove the collar…hence the giggles. 

As we laughed about the situation, I could only imagine what was going through Frank’s mind the moment that sequence occurred…nose to nose with an unhappy momma bear in the confines of her den. All I can say is I am glad it wasn't me!

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To hear more "Bear Tales," and other wonderful bear adventures join Daryl Ratajczak as he recounts some of his favorite bear stories from his career as a wildlife biologist. The best thing...you can participate from the comfort of your own home! Register for his webinar titled, "Bear Tales" by sending an email to: wildlifeforyoutraining@gmail.com

 

A portion of the proceeds will be donated to the Appalachian Bear Rescue in Tennessee to care for orphaned and injured cubs from the Smokies and surrounding areas.

 

Registration and seat availability is first-come-first-served.