Bears Grazing? in the Meadow

July 17-20th - We spent a lot of time watching the bears in the meadow. I never knew that bears would graze on grass.

They looked a bit like big, stocky bison-like animals when they had their head down, grazing.

They chomped….and chomped…..We noted at least 6 different bears as we watched, and began to tell them apart.

This is a momma Grizzly…..she was the most magnificent looking bear……

And her totally cute and fuzzy cub…..

This bear we called ‘No Pants’……she was in the middle of shedding her winter fur.

‘No Pants’ on the left, always looked grumpy. In contrast, the bear on the right, seemed downright happy.

Who could resist this smile?…..

Bear watching was a quiet activity. The bears would amble around…..

Coming remarkably close to us. We had several bears pass within 10 yards of where we were.

Sometimes I could get a nice face shot…..

But, much of the time the bears would turn their backside to us….in a kind of “I don’t care about you” attitude.

We were able to watch the bears just sit and relax. The object behind this bear is not a toy ball, but a buoy that had floated in during a storm.

This bear is scratching an itch. As they shed their winter fur coat, it itches……

And speaking of itches……The mosquitoes bothered the bears as much as they bother us.

The weather was a nice sunny 55-60 degrees…..hot for a bear. After grazing through the meadow, the bears would wander  over for a drink…..sometimes lying in the water to cool off.

This one curled up on the creek bank to take a nap.

We watched this bear when it woke up, it spotted the other female bear, the one that it had skirmished with on the tidal flats. These two were definitely engaged in a battle for dominance, and it is easy to tell which bear came out behind on this exchange.

Other bears would occasionally just sit and enjoy the view right along with us.

Ahhh…..Life is good!