Da Bears

Yesterday evening I pulled up to the driveway and was greeted by just about every guest staying with us right now (12 people). I didn't think they were that excited for my return, so I rolled down the window to see what was going on. Turned out the sow with her two cubs walked by right before I pulled up. I missed it again!
I was up early this morning seeing off some guests and a bear came by! It wasn't the one with the cubs, though. I wish I had my camera handy, because it walked right across the stoop of my cabin. That would have been a neat picture to show people where I live. . .
I was a bit surprised by the size of the bear. It was a black bear, not a brown, so I knew it wouldn't be huge, but I'm still surprised by how small it was. It's really unfortunate they're dangerous, because they're really quite adorable. One other thing I noted is the way they walk.Most quadrupeds alternate feet when they walk, meaning the front right/back left legs and the front left/back right legs move together at the same time. Black bears move both legs on their right side together, then their left, then right, etc., so when they walk they have quite a little clumsy strut going on. Very cute. I know there's a name for that walking pattern, but I can't remember it right now.
And on to the good stuff. Pictures! These are from the first time the bears came by when I got out just in time to see their rumps going into the woods.


I love this picture because you can see the paw. . . and the tree kevin chopped down with his target practice. whoops.
not the clearest picture, but I love how you can see the tongue curling out of her mouth. I'm assuming it's got something to do with helping her smell because it's in a few other pictures, too.
awwwww, the babies!
This is my favorite picture in the set. I love how one cub is looking right at the camera - those ears, I love 'em! And the other cub is nudging him! so cute.
running to catch up with momma bear

Good profile picture - it also shows what I mean about their walking.

Before they disappeared off into the woods. Make sure you check out the next picture, which is a detail of this one

ahhh! scary teeth! Bad baby cub!
And some moose pictures for good measure. This guy was in our yard right around the same time as the bears, which is why Kevin had his camera ready. Actually, now that I think of it, this moose was a girl, not a guy. These are pretty good pictures, too. Kevin is actually a professional photographer. He doesn't do it anymore because, as he says, he got sick of crouching in bushes waiting for things to happen.

And, because this post just isn't long enough yet: When the bear was roaming around this morning the neighbors got REALLY mad. the bear wandered down a neighbor's driveway and I heard a guy say, "bear, you're gonna die!" oye. He then proceeded to chase it back through our yard and into the woods, toting a .44, of course. I understand that people want the area to be safe and they don't want dangerous animals hanging out in their yards, but when it comes down to it, we're in the bear's habitat! The guy that chased the bear away lives right on the river, so the bear was probably just hungry and trying to get to the river for a meal. If the bear was hanging out in your yard picking at your trash, I could see getting a bit worried because if the bear gets too accustomed to finding meals near people's houses then they'll always hang around them, which is asking for trouble. The bears just wander on by, though. They don't hang around! Luckily he didn't shoot the bear.

Crazy Alaskan neighbors. I have another crazy Alaskan neighbor story, but I'll save that for later to avoid making this post into a novel.