May 2008, the first trip

Page 2 of 2

    We sit leaning against a large log while the darker bear we spotted earlier slowly makes his way down the beach.  As he approaches we realize it is most likely a male due to his large physique and some of the other physical characteristics of males – a longer torso and blocky head.  These traits are never sure things, but can be an indicator of gender when you cannot see a penis or haven’t witnessed a bear urinate (male bears urinate underneath their bodies, and female bears urinate out the back of their bodies).  The male veers off the beach and onto the flats heading straight for the clamming females.  He begins popping his jaw and huffing loudly, and his wide paws click across the puddles in the sand.  The closest female looks up at him, pops her jaw, and starts jogging towards the sea.  Keeping a wide distance, she sits down and stares at him, while the other females erupt with their own jaw popping.  They scuttle away from the male, jogging swiftly and then stopping to stare over their shoulder in his direction.  As the male grizzly continues ambling their way the two females take off running to maintain a comfortable distance from him.  The male continues plodding after them at a steady pace, huffing loudly and pop, pop, popping his jaw. 

    The females sprint onto the beach (heading our way) while the male follows.  The females dissapear into the brush bordering the bluff, but quickly appear above the bushes.  They have begun to ascend the bluff to get away from the grizzly male.  They scramble through the slope of loose shale that lines the base of the bluff, not even sliding once through this most unstable of substances.  The bluff face is a sheer, vertical cliff but they head straight for a crack that provides some foot holds and a slightly less steep ascent. 

    The first female begins to rock climb, stretching her arms upwards and balancing on her back legs to push and pull herself upwards.  She reaches one arm up for a handhold and the rest of her body follows, making the technical climb look easy.  Through the binoculars I see that she is the bear with porcupine quills in her nose. 

    The other bear follows several paces behind her.  She stops after the first rise in the path and faces the direction of the male who is now walking through the shale.  She stares him down, and we wonder if this steep slope will deter him from following. 

    It is common for grizzly mothers and cubs to use steep cliffs to escape from male grizzlies since the larger males have more difficulty rock climbing.  However this male plods on undeterred.  He rears upright, bending his knee to get a higher foot hold, and climbs paw over foot towards the females.  The second female abandons her post and scrambles quickly to the top. 

    The female bear's light brown and blond fur blends seamlessly into the tans and yellows of the post winter landscape.  The male has no problem getting up the cliff and reaches the top as well.  The female bears scamper down the ridge of the bluff maintaining the lead.

    At this point the male becomes more interested in sniffing than a quick pursuit.  Fascinated by some leaf-less tree branches, he sniffs their tips for about five minutes.  Suddenly a loud growl erupts and the two female grizzlies swat paws at one another.  In an apparent squabble, one bear slides several feet down the face of the bluff.  I’m frightened she will lose her balance and fall, but she catches herself unharmed on a tiny ledge some five or six feet below.  What are they fighting about, we wonder?  The male strikes a majestic pose high on the barren bluff, sniffing the air in their direction, his long neck rising into the wind.  The females have calmed down, and seem to sense his decreased interest.  One of them lies down on a grassy ledge just below the top of the cliff, rests her head across her arm, and closes her eyes. 

    I’m thrilled to see some grizzly bear mating behavior in action, since this male seems to be plodding after the females in the patient, non aggressive, and unrelenting fashion that I witnessed last year with King and other male bears.  Suddenly, both females go racing down the cliff face, dust flying in chalky swirls as they bound down the steep slope and disappear into the brush.  They race out of the trees and sprint across the sand and out onto the mud flats.  Hitting the hard, wet sand they reach top speed, their butts rolling under as their back legs fly in front of their front paws in forceful, long strides.  They run, and run, hauling across the ocean floor, and we wonder what prompted the chase.  The pursuer begins to slow, and then both bears gradually pad to a stop, neither seeming in the least bit out of breath after a colossal run.  Side by side, stooping their heads to the sand, they go back to sniffing for clams.

    I’m reminded of the small dramas that constantly unfold out here in Hallo Bay, and I can’t wait to return for our first camping trip of the summer. 

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© 2008 Jessica Teel