After 30 amazing years in Atlanta, I decided to take a break from the city and visit my Mom and some friends from my youth. I'm living in Western Mass. right now and we have some fantastic wildlife. I have the cutest (and fattest) squirrels, chipmunks, rabbits, raccoons, foxes and an incredible variety of birds living in my yard or closeby. I've seen a bobcat, a coyote, a barred owl, a bald eagle and lots of other cool birds and animals!
I love them all and I hate to play favorites, but is there one species that is the smartest, sweetest, funniest and most adorable of all? Yes - my black bear friends! They've gone into their dens for the winter and I miss them so much! Hopefully, you'll enjoy these pictures that they posed for - when they smile for the camera, I know you're gonna love them!
This past year (2021) I got to see seven different bears - four adults and three cubs. I only saw the cubs a few times unfortunately but I gave each of the adults a name. The largest one (with the thousand watt smile) I call Big Mama. She is a very friendly and wonderful bear!
When I first met Big Mama, she had two sweet cubs with her. The cubs went out on their own the following year, but one of them stayed in the area. He is a very friendly bear that I call Mr. Goodbear, or Goody. He has something stuck in his paw (see pic) and he has been limping for the last two years. While he doesn't have the 1000W smile of his mother, he is a very sweet and gentle bear. Hope you like these pictures of him!
Halfway through last summer, a bear appeared that I didn't recognize - a beautiful female with no ear tags or collar (adult females are given a collar by the state, males aren't because their necks are larger and the collar slips off). I've seen her with Mr. Goodbear - she looks very much like him and I think she is his sister, from Big Mama's last litter. I call her Little Sis' and she is a character!
Big Mama had an adorable little cub with her this year, and last year the bear I call Little Mama had two beautiful cubs. The cubs stay with their mother for a year and a half, so Little Mama's cubs went out on their own this past spring. Here are some pictures of the cubs and their Moms.
