Big Beasties ... Bears & Moose!

A lot of people commented on the bear photo I posted while in Algonquin Park a couple of weeks ago.  We were actually driving along Hwy 60 which runs through the park, and I happened to see the bear on top of a rocky outcropping above the highway.  We turned the truck around and got out to take the photos.  I'm not claiming any sort of bravery here.  There wasn't much danger since our truck was close at hand.  I would not want to meet a bear on the trail, and thankfully that has never happened. 

We first just saw the mama bear snuffling through the rocks for grubs.  You can see her sharp claws against the rock.  And you can see she sees me, and is already wary.  It gives you a slight tingle up your spine when a black bear is watching you with those ears pricked up at every click of the camera.

 

But then out of the brush came the little romping cubbie bears!  So cute ;)  and there were two!  Can you see the cubs at the top of the hill?

 

 

I wish the photos had turned out a little more clearly.  I'm starting to wonder if there was some dust and smudges on my lens.  Anyway, here's a closer shot of one of the cubs.  They bounced more than ran with their floppy gambling legs.

 

It's not so often that we see bears in the park, so it was a real treat to see them this year.  We think we saw this same family a day or two earlier (again along the highway), but they were too far into the trees to get a good shot.  We've had a few bears in our campground, but usually nothing dangerous and the park warden is there lickety split to scare the bear back into the woods and to safety.  Seeing the bears in the campsite only means trouble for the bears.  Although the park tries to relocate them once they become "nuisance" bears, the bears often return to the same area again and the park is forced to destroy them.  It really is so important to store all your food and things a bear would enjoy out of their reach.  But so many people ignore the warnings and bears have a great sense of smell and find all sorts of food and garbage in campgrounds.

But this sighting was special, and I was happy to finally get a few good shots of the bear.

This is the big critter we usually see at the park ...

I love seeing moose!  We don't have them down where I live, and I'm in awe of their size, their long legs and huge velvety noses.  I would love to be able to pet one, and have sometimes been close enough to do it, but wouldn't dare.  I didn't actually see these two (above & below photos) and the photos were taken by my husband.  My husband and son had driven to the park store, and I decided to stay back at the trailer and relax alone for a half hour instead.  So I completely missed out on the viewing.  All week I waited to see another moose, but it came to our last day in the park, and still none had honoured me with a visit.

As we were leaving the campground with the trailer hitched up and boats strapped on top of the truck, what should we come upon but a "moose jam".  There were people all over the road and cars stopped in the road.  We couldn't move at all, so I quickly hopped out of the truck with camera in hand and happily snapped photos of this big young bull moose quietly lying down in the woods just off from the road.

The crowd of people became too much for him eventually, and he slowly and gracefully got those stilt legs underneath him and calmly walked out to a clearing for a late morning snack.

 

 

I was so happy to have been able to see this big beastie before we left ... it made the drive home a little less painful.  We won't be back in Algonquin Park until the fall now.  I could spend my entire summer up there, and maybe when I retire I'll just have to do that one time ;)

 

I hope you're all enjoying this last month of summer.  I've had house guests this past week and they're with me this next week too, but I've been trying to keep up with visiting most of you in stolen moments throughout the days.  Welcome to my new followers!  I'll swing by to see your blogs soon too.

 

Thanks for stopping by!

 

Wendy

 

The smallest critter we saw in the park :)

 

Linking up with lovely Eileen's Saturday Critters