She's just Letting You Know She's Here

In 2017 I first visited the American Bear Association in Northern Minnesota. I arrived just after sunrise when many male black bears were present. When they wandered back into the woods the female black bears and cubs appeared.

Mama Bear

Mama Bear 24x40” oil ©2018 Susan McDonnell Collection of the Hilbert Museum of California Art

I was observing and photographing this female black bear and her three cubs (above) from a safe distance. There was another photographer to my right.

The mama bear silently communicated something to her cubs. They climbed a nearby tree and she walked away from us into the woods.

For about twenty minutes the other photographer and I photographed the three cubs in the tree. It was adorable. The cubs were in constant motion on the lookout for the return of mom.

As I was taking a photo I felt a nudge from behind and the mama bear calmly walked by me and back to her cubs. The cubs came back down the tree and playfully reunited with mom.

When my heart started beating again, I told the other photographer, “she nudged me”. He replied, “she was just letting you know she was here”.

I still shudder when I think of that nudge. The one bear safety rule we’ve all heard; never get between a mama bear and her cubs!

June 24, 2022