Oh Shenandoah....The Wild Side of Wildlife

In the Spring in Shenandoah at the Lodge or along
Sky line Drive... You can easily see a bear

People stop the car, get out, let the door hang open

and run to the side of the road and start taking pictures

Fear doesn't seem to be a factor for most

On several days we passed these boots and clothes
apparently abandoned... We wondered if fear and a
bear had anything to do with it

If you look closely you will see a really dark spot just off
the roadway in the woods... Likely it is a Black Bear.

The American Black Bear population is 600,000
on the continent

5,000 to 6,000 of these bears live in Virginia

It is believed that the bear population in the park ranges
from the low to the high hundreds

They forage for berries, grasses and acorns, or will paw the
ground for grubs and and will ignore you if left alone

However, if boxed in or a sow with cubs will
charge if she feels threatened

We were fortunate enough to see 4 bears while at Shenandoah

One evening around dusk, we saw a guy pulled over with
his kids watching a sow...and he told us where to find
her cubs in a tree on the pipeline....

When we arrived and located them high up in a tree
they were snuggled up together sleeping

They soon awoke and started moving around

It's hard to believe that these little ones only weigh 8 ounces
when born in February. Twins are common but a bear sow
can birth up to 4 cubs.

The Big Meadow gave us so many opportunities to
see newly born fawns. We got up at 4:30 the first morning
hoping to get there and to see hundreds of deer. On this
morning only one was standing in the meadow.

As the week unfolded we learned when and how to see
these friendly deer.

You could walk right up to them and take as many pictures
as you wanted

The fawns were not very old and they stayed along
side the mamas, unless running to keep up

On one evening we walked out into the meadow and
found about 5 bucks getting bedded down for evening.

But of course the fawns were the big attraction

Every time we saw one we would try to get the inter -action

between the mom and the baby

This little cutie was caught in the early morning light

Mom took him up to the road

and we held our breath as she crossed...

This fawn was newly born and nursing when we came along

Look how tiny it is

While watching deer one evening we saw a Male
Bluebird feeding the kids

They were waiting patiently for their next meal

On two separate occasions we saw Turkey in the field

Every evening we tried to catch the sun set.

Each one was different than the last.

Stay tuned for the birds of Shenandoah...

To God be The Glory ~~ Great Things He Hath Done