Pepe
As I was walking in the woods yesterday with some friends, I noticed a bear just before noon. The bear meandered about munching on everything green it could get its mouth on.
We thought it was a male bear because we didn’t see any cubs in the near by trees. He ate, and ate, and ate.
By now the bear caused quite a stir and got a lot of attention from the tourists. He crossed the road, and then I saw a cub come down the hill to meet the bear.
The bear is a female and has three cubs! She lay at the top of the hill and nursed them. She then meandered about attracting even a larger crowd.
She created a bear jam, aka a long line of traffic. I can’t imagine how long the line was. Traffic had to be stopped several times as the bears crossed the road.
She “treed” the cubs telling them which tree to stay in. She then munched on tons of vegetation and picked the best moss-covered blanket in the Cove to rest on. Even better than that, she was right next to the road and posed for us. Caring for three cubs is exhausting work!
Once she called the cubs down, they were like toddlers. They played follow the leader on a log, climbed up and down trees, had a sumo wrestling match, and constantly bit each other.
It was time for them to leave as they disappeared into the woods. My last shot was taken at 2:45.
I really needed to see these cubs. It was a blessing to see her nurse them and then rest on the log giving it a bear hug.
This is a new bear for many photographers, I am going to call her Pepe:)
“Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest” (Matthew 11:28, NIV).
Location: Cades Cove, Tennessee in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park
