What in the world would bring me out into the woods?
It has to be something really big! It is Big! It's a bear.
Yes, I said a bear! Actually , it's three bears!
We're off into the woods to see a mother
bear and her two cubs.
About 25 of us gathered at my brother-in-law David's 100
acre homestead in Townsend, MA this morning. David is the
guy in the middle of this group. His sister Nancy
is in pink at his right. David loves walking his property,
and one day last Fall, while tracking deer,
he saw the mother bear and soon after located her den.
Mass. Wildlife sent a team a while back to confirm
the dens location and that the den was occupied by a black bear.
Today, we met the team of 8-10 people who came to
check out the health, and vitals of the sow and her cubs
and to then put an ear tag on her.This team monitors
Worcester County's Black Bear population.
We all hiked through the snow covered woods and were
so grateful that we had sunshine, moderate temperatures
and no wind. It was an absolutely perfect day
for our adventure.
While the Mass. Wildlife team went ahead to tranquilize
the mother bear, stragglers continued to join us. This is
our niece Patty and little Jacob along for the ride. They
traveled from CT to share in the day.
Meet more Dyer family. From L-R Dahleet, Linda (Charlie's sister)
Christina and Earl. They also traveled from CT this morning
to be a part of this adventure.
Charlie and David's youngest sister Nancy along with Ryan!
After a while, we received the word that we hoped for...
the mother bear had successfully been tranquilized and
she and her cubs had been removed from their den.
So were off on the last leg of the hike.
We crossed over the brook and up a small knoll.
The excitement was building! And then we saw these
little guys!
The cubs are normally kept warm by Mom, so the
Mass. Wildlife team went all out to keep these little guys
comfortable ,warm and safe. This cub was the size of a
6 week old kitten. Did you see him? That's cub #1!
Look at the big paw and the claws on cub #2!
This is a close-up debut photo of cub #2! His eyes haven't
even opened yet! He made lots of squealing sounds.
After viewing the cubs, we went a little further to see the den.
When the Mass. Wildlife team arrived the momma bear was inside
across the hole protecting herself and the cubs. A tranquilizer
had been administered into her shoulder area. Though
she remained awake and was aware of what was
happening, she couldn't move and was never in any danger.
The hood over her head is to help keep her calm and
prevent her from seeing all of the activity going on around
her.We all made sure that we kept our talking to a minimum
and in hushed tones so as not to cause any stress for her.
She's bigger than the team had expected from seeing
her in the den. She's about 3 years old and appears
to be in very good health
While everyone moved around trying to get a good look
and to ask questions of the Mass. Wildlife people, Charlie and I
had to make an early exit. After everyone has taken their
pictures and left for home, the wildlife team will complete
their work and safely return mom and kids to their home.
Safe and sound to rest through what's remaining of the Winter.
Though we hated to leave, it was quite a day! One that
I'll never forget!
