Mama bear and two second year cubs

[Okanagan]

On a drive the other day up to Hurricane Ridge in Olympic National Park, on the way down my wife and I came across three black bears by the road, a mama bear and two big second year cubs.

I was surprised at how high they were on the mountain, probably within 800 vertical feet of the snow line or less.  Not much has greened up yet at that high elevation but they were grazing aggressively on the new grass.  My guess is that they are fresh out of hibernation and working their way down the mountain to the lush new growth in the valley bottoms.

Very good coats on all three.  Big cubs.  They are born during hibernation and when they come out that first spring, they are about the size of a house cat, hard to spot in grass more than 8 or ten inches tall.  They spend their first summer with their mother and hibernate with her again.  When they come out their second spring they are the size of these.  They go on their own soon after that.

[nastygunz]

They love that spring salad!

[FinsnFur]

To be enjoyed from a great distance

[Okanagan]

They love that spring salad!

Do they ever!  They LOVE dandlions: flowers, succulent stems and leaves. Any pulpy/juicy green plant seems to be on the menu, plus fresh new grass.  For some reason most switchbacks on Canadian logging roads produce a lush patch of grass and dandlions in late May.  Every patch of dandelions seemed to sprout a black bear, as well as swampy creek bottom patches of skunk cabbage.

Up there in B.C. the first week in June was the best time to see bears, though some of the hides were beginning to rub by then.  It was a little harder to find a bear earlier but on average the hides were better.  When our kids were younger every spring our whole family would go on a one day drive to see bears, fish and have a picnic.  Five bears spotted in one day was about average, and a couple of times we've seen ten.  My best trout of those trips was an 8 1/2 lb. dolly varden.  My GREAT grandkids are getting old enough for such a trip now!