Newborn black bear struggles to cross creek, but triumphs in the end. Grizzly bear cubs facing similar obstacle also are featured.
Your National Parks on Tuesday shared footage showing a newborn black bear attempting to cross a creek, perhaps for the first time.
The footage, posted below, is titled, “Baby bear vs. creek.” It shows the tiny cub pausing before a riffle, then leaping for a boulder opposite the creek but falling just short.
After a brief struggle in swift water, the bear climbs onto the opposite shore and scampers off, presumably to catch up with mom.
https://www.instagram.com/p/DEPsG4qxl97/
The footage is reminiscent of a scene I witnessed in Yellowstone National Park in 2023, involving two first-year grizzly bear cubs navigating a narrow creek while trying to keep up with momma bear.
That footage is posted below and, as viewers can see, both cubs land in the water during their tiny leaps, but quickly cross and take up positions behind mom.
https://www.instagram.com/p/Csm-2UBgVC1/
To be sure, keeping up with a momma bear is often difficult. But overcoming obstacles like rushing creeks builds strength and confidence.
As Your National Parks stated: “Bear cubs learn new skills through a combination of instinct, observation, and play.”
During the summer bears roamed the Yellowstone landscape, but weren’t always easy to see. Image will test your spotting skills.
*Editor’s note: A version of this post was published by ForTheWin earlier this year.
Bears in Yellowstone National Park are hibernating, but during the summer they were spread across the landscape and often visible from roads and trails.
But they weren’t always easy to see, and one Montana-based hiking guide used an image he captured from above the Lamar River to test his social-media followers’ spotting skills.
“I’ve been told my more recent ‘Find the Animal Friday’ posts have been way too easy,” Douglas Scott stated via X. “This one is a little more challenging.”
Can you spot the black bear? Photo: Douglas Scott
Scott allowed the use of his image for this post, so we’re also challenging readers: Can you spot the black bear in the images posted above? (Answer below.)
Hint: It’s a difficult quiz and there are several shadows that might be mistaken for the bear.
Scott, who runs The Outdoor Society, told me that he captured the image June 21 “on a perfectly clear day” in the park’s northern range.
“It was definitely a fun spot as my client was amazed I saw it so easily from so far away,” Scott recalled.
His X followers offered several guesses but in the hours after his post only one had pinpointed the bear’s location.
When I guessed, Scott informed me that I had found “the shadow of a tree.”
Another guess was met with the reply: “Unfortunately, you are incorrect. You most definitely found a non-animal shadow though!”
Yellowstone is remarkable in that visitors often see bears up close or in the distance, especially if they’re patient and use binoculars or spotting scopes.
They might also capture a landscape image and later realize that a critter is visible in the image.
In 2023, for example, I was watching bears on one side of a highway and turned to snap an image of a coyote in transit on the other side of the highway.
When I got back to my hotel room and began to inspect my images, I discovered that a smaller animal was visible, paying close attention to the coyote.
As for the black bear photographed by Scott, it’s much easier to spot in a zoomed-in version posted immediately below.
Zoomed-in version shows black bear’s location. Photo: Douglas Scott
Immediately below is an image with the bear pinpointed with an arrow.
Black bear location. Photo: Douglas Scott
As for Yellowstone bears, they’ll begin to emerge from hibernation as early as late March.
Trail-cam footage captured in Minnesota shows a black bear that is obviously ready for hibernation wandering through the forest.
A Minnesota group that studies wolves on Saturday shared trail-cam footage of an incredibly fat black bear that looked beyond ready for hibernaiton.
“Talk about a unit! This bear is clearly ready for the long nap,” the Voyageurs Wolf Project proclaimed via Instagram.
The footage was captured a month ago but only recently discovered as Voyageurs Wolf Project staff inspected footage. The bear has almost undoubtedly denned up by now.
The images were captured by a USFWS employee in central Washington. Hint: Not all black bears have black fur.
Can you spot the black bear peeking from the forest in the Pacific Northwest?
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service asked a similar question Monday via social media and provided the main image and a second image showing a portion of the bear in a different location.
We’ve provided both images below, with the answer circled at the bottom of this post.
Can you spot the bear?
“In the Pacific Northwest, fish hatchery employees are accustomed to wildlife encounters, including black bears,” the USFWS post states. “These photos were taken during a hike earlier this summer to check on water levels above Leavenworth National Fish Hatchery, in the mountains of central Washington.”
Hint: Not all black bears have black fur, which appears evident in both of Mathew Maxey’s images.
A 17-year-old girl stood very still when a black bear walked up to her near a mountain lake in California as a friend videoed the encounter.
A 17-year-old girl stood very still when a black bear walked up to her at a mountain lake in California as a friend videoed the encounter.
Kimberly Mendoza and the friend were at Lake George in the Mammoth Lakes area when the encounter occurred, as reported by Tony Spitz of Veuer.
[Note: On some servers, viewers might need to click the TikTok link to watch video.]
When the bear grabbed her leg, Mendoza casually pushed it away and then slowly walked toward her friend. The bear eventually turned and walked away, as well.
As the bear approached, the two didn’t have a clear exit as they were blocked by fallen tree limbs, and they didn’t run away for fear the bear would give chase.
Mendoza admitted to Spitz it was a “pretty scary moment.”
The man was fishing alone on the Stillwater River when the incident occurred. The bear will not be tracked.
A Montana angler was injured Wednesday by a black bear that “swatted” his face as he fished alone on the Stillwater River near the town of Beehive.
According to Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks, the adult male did not seek medical attention after the incident.
The bear, which seemed to have reacted defensively after its surprise encounter, left the area immediately. The FWP stated that it does not plan to track or trap the bear.
The agency urged outdoor enthusiasts to exercise extreme caution when in bear country, and to travel in groups whenever possible.
“Recreationists, including anglers, should be aware, especially in areas with abundant natural foods such as fruit and berries and where hearing may be limited along rivers and streams,” the FWP stated in a news release.
The agency added that black bears and grizzly bears “can be especially active this time of year as they prepare for winter hibernation.”
The Stillwater River, a tributary of the Yellowstone River, is a blue-ribbon trout fishery.
If you’re able to spot the black bear in the Yellowstone National Park image you’re either lucky or have a keen eye.
A Montana-based guide who leads hiking expeditions in Yellowstone National Park on Friday tweeted a landscape image and asked followers if they could spot the black bear.
“I’ve been told my more recent ‘Find the Animal Friday’ posts have been way too easy,” Douglas Scott declared. “This one is a little more challenging.”
Can you spot the black bear? Photo: Douglas Scott
Scott, who runs The Outdoor Society, granted ForTheWin Outdoors permission to use the image and supplied a second image that we’ve posted below to serve as a hint for those who might struggle initially to spot the bear (as I did.)
Can you spot the bear in the images posted above? (Answer below.)
Scott told FTW Outdoors that he captured the image June 21 from above the Lamar River “on a perfectly clear day” in the park’s northern range.
“It was definitely a fun spot as my client was amazed I saw it so easily from so far away,” Scott recalled.
I’ve been told my more recent “Find the Animal Friday” posts have been way too easy. This one is a little more challenging.
Find the black bear in this picture from above the Lamar River in Yellowstone National Park. pic.twitter.com/5Z8QmmQgYJ
— Beyond the Boardwalks: Yellowstone National Park (@_out_door_) June 29, 2024
Scott’s X followers chimed in with guesses but, as of Sunday night, only one had pinpointed the bear’s location.
When I guessed, Scott informed me that I had found “the shadow of a tree.”
Another guess was met with the reply: “Unfortunately, you are incorrect. You most definitely found a non-animal shadow though!”
Black bear is pictured in the clearing barely left of center. Photo: Douglas Scott
The image posted immediately above shows the bear when Scott was closer (or zoomed-in). Readers, if they choose, can use landmarks in the image to match the location of the bear in Scott’s original image.
To view the answer, click on Scott’s tweet and scroll to Matt Inman’s comment. Or simply view the image posted below.
Scott specializes in leading day trips to remote areas “beyond the boardwalks” of Yellowstone National Park. The hikes typically last between four and seven hours.
Colorado wildlife officials put up signs about increased bear activity in Steamboat Springs with instructions to “stay calm” and “don’t run” if you see a bear.
A male walker in Colorado sustained minor injuries when a black bear swiped at him from behind, knocking him to the ground.
The man was on a morning walk Tuesday morning when the encounter occurred on a path connecting Walton Creek Road and Mt. Werner Circle in Steamboat Springs near the ski resort, Colorado Parks and Wildlife reported Wednesday.
The man, who had noticed a yearling cub in the area before the attack, received scrapes to his arm from falling. He finished his walk before seeking first aid. He notified CPW of the attack around 9:45 a.m.
“Local wildlife officers have set up bear traps and placed signage to notify those walking the trail of increased bear activity,” the CPW stated. “As of Wednesday morning, no bears have been caught in the traps.
“This is still an ongoing investigation.”
Rachael Gonzales, CPW northwest region public information officer, told the Craig Daily Press that residents and visitors to Steamboat Springs need to practice good “living in bear country” principles.
“If you see a bear, don’t run,” Gonzales said. “Stand still, stay calm and slowly back away until the bear is out of sight. If you see cubs, their mother is usually close by. Leave the area immediately to give them space.
“As cool as it is to get these videos and photos, it’s not worth it. Make noise. Don’t panic. Being alert, keeping your dog on a leash and knowing what to do if you encounter a bear is important.”
Generic photos of a black bear with cub and a black bear courtesy of Mass.gov and Vermont Fish and Wildlife Department.
Skier who captured the footage says the sighting at Heavenly Resort helped “solidify this place as most beautiful.”
Last week we shared footage showing a black bear sprinting across a ski lift at Heavenly Mountain Resort and nearly colliding with the skier who captured the footage.
On what appears to have been the same day, last Sunday, a different Heavenly skier captured the accompanying footage showing a momma bear and two cubs passing beneath a chairlift.
“Been skiing Heavenly my whole life, never seen anything like this. From the family of bears and the fog covered lake to the sun peaking over the mountain on first chair, it solidifies this place as most beautiful.”
Heavenly is in South Lake Tahoe on the California-Nevada border. The Sierra Nevada region boasts a large black bear population, but most of the bruins have denned up for the winter by early December.
A skier at Heavenly Resort in South Lake Tahoe on Sunday captured footage of his near-collision with a large black bear that charged in front of him as he descended the slope.
A skier at Heavenly Resort in South Lake Tahoe on Sunday captured footage of his near-collision with a large black bear that charged in front of him as he descended the slope.
The accompanying footage originally appeared on TikTok via the user, @Tao7570, who shared the clip with ABC 10 News.
The user also shared the footage as a Facebook reel with the description: “Almost hit a bear skiing down Ridgerun [at] Heavenly. Didn’t realize it was a bear until it was too close.”
As viewers can see, the bear is intent on crossing the ski run and has to navigate through downhill skiers and snowboarders. The bear almost collides with the TikTok user, who keeps his camera phone trained on the fleeing bruin.
At no point did the bear act menacingly toward the skiers as it bounded toward and into the wilderness.
Although South Lake Tahoe is famous for its black bear population, most of the animals have denned up for the winter.
