Bears and Berries

Bears and berries

There’s a very appropriate saying in bear country that “where there are berries, there soon will be bears.” As Jack, my husband, and I continue our stay in the Tetons, we have certainly found that to be true. Just down the road from where we are staying, a mama grizzly bear and her two beautiful, silvery grey cubs appear every morning to devour the berries on shrubs and trees. They have been amazingly predictable and amazingly tourist-tolerant. National Park rangers appear (just as predictably) and monitor the situation, giving each car three long seconds to pass by and snap photos. Doing it this way, both bears and people stay safe.

Other than going on a “bear tour” in Alaska where we watched a multitude of grizzlies fishing for salmon, it is certainly the closest I’ve ever been to a bear in the wild.

Teton Mama is fat and her dark brown fur glistens with good health. Her babies, equally healthy looking, are like silver teddy bears. Grizzlies are also known as the silvertip bear and are a subspecies of brown bears. Though they seem to love the late summer berries, grizzlies are omnivorous and will eat just about anything including seeds, roots, grasses, deer, elk, fish, dead animals and insects. They are said to have a better sense of smell than a hound dog and can smell food from miles away. During the summer, grizzlies are thought to eat about 90 pounds of food a day. During autumn, when food becomes scarcer, grizzlies begin digging dens in hillsides, using their long claws (about the length of human fingers.).

Unlike humans, grizzlies give birth while still asleep (no drugs!). Babies are born in mid – winter and weigh only  6 ounces (a full grown male grizzly may weigh as much as 800 pounds.) The babies nurse for about a month, then venture out with Mama to find food in early spring.

Grizzlies, as a subspecies, are listed as “Threatened” by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.   Grizzly populations are threatened due to loss of habitat and often, unfortunately, due to interactions with humans. “Problem” bears in national parks are sometimes exterminated.

Though we love watching the bears from the car, we realize the importance of leaving them alone, not only for our safety but theirs as well. We feel so lucky that we have the opportunity to be in the wilderness and to respectfully (and cautiously) watch these beautiful bears.