Introducing cub on right
Ohio and her two hungry cubs came by and stopped and nursed by the favorite nursing tree—a big white pine. As they were finishing, a cub of Colleen joined them and actually touched noses with both cubs and the mother without experiencing any aggression. There are stories from elsewhere of cubs joining the wrong mother for days at a time, but that can’t be common. However, it has been 
Ohio and 2 male cubsa common adoption practice across North America to have strange cubs adopted into families. When Dr. Gary Alt did that with cubs that had been out of the den for awhile he masked their odors to get by the initial moments of adoption.
Then we got a call. RC and her four cubs were in the neighborhood. We wanted to see how these cubs that had always been reported as small were doing. We saw that they are doing fine. All four are a good size now and RC (stands for right check to remind us of the check on the right side of her chest that identifies her) looks like she is producing a lot of milk. At 21, she is still in the prime years for reproduction, and she emphasized that by producing four good surviving cubs.
The good group of veteran course participants experienced many bear moments today. For the four of them, this was their 3rd, 4th, 5th, and 7th bear courses. A fun and memorable day.
 RC (Right Check) |
RC's cub |
 RC and 2 cubs |
Thank you for all you do.
Lynn Rogers, Biologist, Wildlife Research Institute and North American Bear Center