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Athena and cubs Denali & Sitka

Page 4 of 4

           I closed my eyes and listened to the steady rhythm of Athena’s breath.  She took long deep inhalations, followed by a shorter, and more forceful, snort of an exhale.  I matched my breathing to her breath cycle, and entered some of the most peaceful moments of my life, nothing but breath and bears.  We stayed there, all of us eyes closed and resting for fifteen minutes or so.  Suddenly, Athena’s head shot up and she looked behind her.  She jumped to attention, standing at the sight and smell of an approaching male.  Athena began loudly popping her jaw – which is bear language for stay the hell away!  She loped quickly away from the oncoming male with the cubs scrambling in front of her.  She would turn every few paces to stare his way and pop loudly.  Paula and Racer, who were napping by the river, also bolted upright, and began to run off making popping noises. 

 

        John and I stay seated as the male bear came closer.  I realized it was Zeus, the male I had seen often by the river, and I had drawn a sketch of the mass of scars around his face and neck.  He was riddled with small, circular scars that made him very distinct to identify.  He was a very dark bear, and we had noticed previously that he has a small, yellow ear tag, meaning he had been tagged in the McNeil River area, which of course made me sad because that means he wanders into areas open to hunting.  That being said, he must be a very smart and resourceful male to have escaped being hunted by evil, pathetic men. 

 

      He walked up to the day bed dug by Athena.  Dropping his head he sniffed vigorously, combing the entire area of the hole and the sand around it, sniffing for information.  What I wouldn’t give to know what he was learning from his nose.  What do the scents from this day bed tell him about Athena and the cubs?  We really haven’t grasped the extent to which information is exchanged and understood by bears through their olfactory sense which is thought to be a 100,000 times stronger than our own.  Can he tell that Athena isn’t in estrus?  Can he tell if the cubs are his own?  Zeus lifted his head from the hole and gazed over at us.  While his gaze might look menacing to an outsider, due to his scars and undeniable strength, I didn’t feel in the least bit threatened or scared.  This was a bear used to our presence, who had walked around us for days.  I had no doubts that he wasn’t interested in us humans.  He slowly walked off in the direction that mother and cubs had ran, and waded off through the river.

 

 

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© 2008 Jessica Teel