ursus americanus…aka herman.

At the end of February, our 7yo and I made a pilgrimage together to The Bear Woods in eastern Oklahoma.

The official name of the spot is most certainly not “The Bear Woods.” The name has been coined by our friend, Sara, and generally refers to any woods in which she happens to be exploring for Ursus Americanus, otherwise known as, black bears.

I wrote about what Sara and her team does here, when our now-10yo and I made our pilgrimage. This time was very different. Different boy, different emotions. Ewan is a quiet and thorough observer, unlike Holden, who drank in his experience with big gulps. Ewan danced around the edge, soaking in things in his own, personal way, and then needing to privately process and review. It’s so interesting when I’m reminded of how very different the boys are. Where Holden and I were prepared for nothing in our experience – which made everything so visceral, Ewan seemed very prepared and gentle, yet matter-of-fact.

First, Ewan loves to travel. He loves the airport. A car gets you there, a train takes you to your terminal, a moving walkway takes you to your gate, and an airplane takes you to your destination. Travel days are hard to beat.

0225 ok bears-001

We wound our way from Oklahoma City across the state to a spot very near the Arkansas border, down a dirt road, through a gate, and into the Sequoyah National Wildlife Refuge, where we spent the night (courtesy of Sara). The next morning, we geared up for our drive and hike into a 6,500-acre private property to watch the team work the bear den.

0225 ok bears-005 0225 ok bears-006

The property was absolutely incredible; coyote, cattle, bald eagles, migratory birds, bear, you name it. And somewhere deep within, down a ravine, lay Hummingbird the momma bear and her bear cub, Herman (named aptly for the man who owned this property), tucked snugly into the back of a small cave made when a big oak tree fell over. I wonder…how many times have we each walked right by an amazing wild animal den and never known it?

It’s the way nature intended.

Sara’s work is to track bear, monitor health and mortality rates geographically, and work the dens to check momma bear’s health condition and do a general health workup, DNA profile, and chip any cubs within the dens. There’s more about that here.

For us, we (meaning landowners and other guests of Sara/the team/Oklahoma State University) have this profound opportunity to watch part of that process, hold the cubs while the team works the momma bear, and witness them in their territory. All of this work is done in the field; none are in captivity or clinics.

Here’s our morning.

First, the hike in, setup of sedation meds, and readying equipment.

0225 ok bears-010 0225 ok bears-022 0225 ok bears-021 0225 ok bears-016 0225 ok bears-014

Since the temperature was chilly, they wrapped the syringe with a warming pad in order to keep the meds from crystallizing.

0225 ok bears-028

Then the short descent down the ravine to the den. There’s always a great deal of care and discussion about the momma bear’s body position within the den and access to good spots for injection. Even though she’s hibernating, she is still fully aware and awake (more on hibernation here). In fact, while shooting from my vantage point, I saw her eyes reflect and blink a couple of times, which was more than just a little alarming. It was a good reminder to be careful and quiet and above all, aware.

0225 ok bears-034

They got into position and between them held flashlights, gear, and meds so that they could sedate mom quickly and carefully.

0225 ok bears-035 0225 ok bears-038 0225 ok bears-041

Colby felt mom’s shoulder shift as he contacted her, which required them to time the sedation period and recheck her in order to make sure she received enough to go under for the time they needed.

0225 ok bears-049 0225 ok bears-053 0225 ok bears-056 0225 ok bears-060 0225 ok bears-062

When time was up, Sara went in to check mom, telling Colby to stay close and grab her feet to pull her out if she needed him. WHAT?!

0225 ok bears-070

This is the last I saw of Sara…

0225 ok bears-072

Until this.

0225 ok bears-074 0225 ok bears-077

Since it was chilly and this bear cub was so young, she tucked him into her jacket until he could be put in a warmer wrap. When we could, we kept him tucked inside a blanket inside of our jackets to add an extra layer.

0225 ok bears-079 0225 ok bears-083-Edit 0225 ok bears-120

Ewan waited patiently on a felled tree until it was his turn to hold the baby. Sara’s husband (and my husband’s best friend), Kelly, showed Ewan how to hold him and keep him warm.

0225 ok bears-099 0225 ok bears-102 0225 ok bears-103 0225 ok bears-104 0225 ok bears-108 0225 ok bears-114 0225 ok bears-113 0225 ok bears-112 0225 ok bears-110 0225 ok bears-109

You guys. I mean really.

So choked up.

Photo cred on these below goes to Kelly. Thank you friend. I’ll cherish these forever. <3

0225 ok bears-122 0225 ok bears-130 0225 ok bears-133 0225 ok bears-134 0225 ok bears-123

This little baby was making little grunting and whiny noises that just sounded so sweetly sad. I couldn’t help empathizing for a minute.

0225 ok bears-128

After the team had checked the health of Hummingbird (the momma bear), they came up the ravine a little bit to weigh, measure, and chip Herman (the cub). They also took a hair sample (for DNA). After his workup, we held him one last time and Ewan looked inside the den at Hummingbird before they placed Herman back on her to nurse.

0225 ok bears-163 0225 ok bears-138 0225 ok bears-140 0225 ok bears-141 0225 ok bears-159 0225 ok bears-153 0225 ok bears-155 0225 ok bears-156

Just a couple pics of the team and Sara’s interns, and it was time to go.

0225 ok bears-184 0225 ok bears-188 0225 ok bears-189 0225 ok bears-213

As always, Sara, you have my deepest gratitude for this amazing experience. You guys are a stellar group of biologists, and our little family is blessed by you beyond measure! Thank you!!

0225 ok bears-187

Comments

comments