In the spring of this year we found a female black bear with three new cubs.
They hung around the area between Roosevelt Lodge and Calcite Springs. She was nicknamed “Rosie” because she was believed to be the grand daughter of the original Rosie, a female black bear whose territory included Roosevelt Lodge. All three Rosies have been fairly docile bears and very good mothers.
She and her three cubs spent a lot of time near the road and were therefore a delight for us and a real pain for the rangers in the Tower District who were very short handed this year. I guess because they were short handed they repeatedly crackered her and her cubs to the point they crossed the nearby Yellowstone River and had to establish a new territory. I haven’t heard anything about any sightings of her or her cubs for a couple of months now. I sure hope they are OK.
They were so cute to watch, especially when they were just below the Calcite Springs parking lot. There are a lot of trees there and those cubs climbed them like professionals. They would sometimes be 50 feet in the air without any concerns.
One of the cubs was much smaller than the other two. The larger ones spent hours playing together while the little runt had to play with sticks and bison patties.
When it was time to nurse though the runt always got his share.
Our photos are available at www.vernelehmberg.com.
Thank you Deby, Angela, and Dianna. I worry about all of them but especially the runt. But one evening it got separated from the rest of the family. Mom and the 2 larger cubs on one side of the road and the runt several hundred yards up the road and on the other side. Charleen and I tried to get cars to create an opening. It was working until a woman walked up to the runt to get a photo ignoring Charleen. The runt freaked out and ran off the opposite direction from Mom. We were really worried when suddenly the runt sprinted along a ridge line until it was parallel to the rest of the family. Then it ran down a hill, crossed the road, and was running so fast when he got to Mom he ran right past her. She immediately gather all 3 cubs and nursed them to calm them down. A great mom and a smart cub, so there is hope!
Can’t help calling them “cute”. Enjoying the photos.
I agree…those are great shots! Hope the family is doing well and the runt has gotten stronger!
I miss them so much! Great shots, both you and Verne, and great memories of sitting there and watching them.