"A Sand County Almanac"

"THERE ARE SOME WHO CAN LIVE WITHOUT WILD THINGS AND SOME WHO CANNOT."
"FOR US IN THE MINORITY THE OPPORTUNITY TO SEE GEESE IS MORE IMPORTANT THAN TELEVISION.".....Aldo Leopold




"LOOK DEEP INTO NATURE, AND THEN YOU WILL UNDERSTAND EVERYTHING BETTER".....Albert Einstein


“Climb the mountains and get their good tidings. Nature’s peace will flow into you as sunshine flows into trees. The winds will blow their own freshness into you and the storms their energy, while cares will drop off like autumn leaves”.....John Muir


Thursday, May 25, 2017

Grand Teton National Park (Part Thirteen) Grizzly Bear Romance

This is the mating season for grizzly bears.  That is the reason solitary boars have been seen frequenting areas usually occupied by sows and cubs.  Until now the mating season has been an abstract concept for me, since I had no personal observations of this bear behavior to draw upon.

That changed two days ago, when by a stroke of luck, we were able to observe two grizzly bears courting and mating on Togwotee Pass.  

I was impressed by the degree of tenderness that they displayed towards each other…




Sometimes it was difficult to tell whether the boar or the sow was initiating the activities…



I have to admit that I was concerned for the welfare of the bears when they moved to a busy highway to pursue their romance…







Needless to say, traffic was stopped in both directions as the bears mated in the road…





Afterwards, the sow crossed the road several times with no regard for the danger of oncoming traffic…





The boar, on the other hand, retreated to the woods and a cooling patch of snow…





The sow pursued him and appeared a bit miffed when she could not re-kindle his interest…



She then found her own spot to cool her passions…







The sow was last seen climbing a hill, perhaps in search of another suitor…



The boar was left wondering what had become of her…




Thanks for visiting, be well, and come back soon.

1 comment:

  1. Wow what an interaction. It is my biggest wish to see a bear in the wild. This was CRAZY. Your photos are epic!

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