Top Photo: View of rock wall in Black Bear Enclosure through fence at Secondary Viewing.

When outside temperatures drop from teeshirt to long john level, black bears get drowsy and look for a cozy spot to sleep it off. They enter a state of torpor where they may sleep for days, weeks or more only rising occasionally. It seems torpor hits individual bears differently. Some bears may sleep through nearly the entire winter while others will wake frequently.

Little bear appears to be a sound sleeper. Last winter she was out for the count, as I didn’t see her for long stretches at a time. She had found a nice quiet spot to be alone. It was in a depression, a hollow, in the rock wall close to the waterfall, out of the way of any bear traffic.

Her secret has been exposed. Murray, our soon-to-be three year old male discovered her lair (which was not much of a secret to begin with). And, in his strong desire for companionship has forced her out into the open. Black bears are solitary creatures and like to be left alone except during breeding and family time, and apparently when they’re cubs.

Little Bear’s now been sleeping in what appears to be a precarious location. She’s perched on a rock ledge. Murray, for all his yearning, doesn’t appear to be able to reach her and therefore hassle her. She sleeps peacefully.

Murray has not completely given up. He both paces and sleeps on top of the diabase wall near Little’s ledge. I’ve seen him try to get down to Little’s position, failing every time. He paces back and forth divvying up his time between the cliff and the secondary viewing area when humans are present. He seeks companionship.

While watching Murray and Little, I noticed a movement on another ledge not far from Murray’s position. A quick shot with the zoom lens on my camera revealed a gray fox relaxed and resting out in the hazy sunshine.

The fox was back the next day. Keep your eyes opened wide, you never know what’ll show up.

Ranger Greg