Peek-a-bear! Cheeky cub interrupts mum's back-scratching to play hide-and-seek behind tree trunk
- Photographer Ken Archer, 51, captured the adorable family scene in the Rocky Mountains in Wyoming
- Mother was scratching her back on a tree trunk and turned round to see her cub looking at her
- There are more than 600,000 black bears in North America thriving on everything from plants and insects to deer
By DAN BLOOM
|
If you go down to the woods today, you're sure of a big surprise.
At least, you are if you're this mother black bear - whose mischievous cub played a trick on her by hiding behind a tree trunk.
Photographer Ken Archer, 51, captured the magical moment between mother and baby in the Rocky Mountains of western Wyoming.
I'm bear-hind you: The black bear cub hid out of the way of its mother's gaze in Wyoming's Rocky Mountains. There are thought to be at least 600,000 black bears in North America, spread across mostly the north of the U.S. and Canada. They eat plants, fruits, nuts and insects but will also kill salmon and occasionally young deer
Mr Archer, from Washington said: 'I was surprised when the cubs descended from the top of the large pine tree to see what their mother was up to.
'I was ecstatic to capture the curious expression of this cub peering around the trunk of the tree at its mother.
'This photo turned out to be my favorite photo of the trip.
'Much of my time was spent patiently watching them rest in thick foliage, eagerly waiting for them to come out into the open and be active.
'I used camouflaged clothing to help blend myself into the environment, but I also used a super telephoto camera lens to keep me at a distance comfortable for the bears and safe for me.'
Playful: The mother bear's two cubs were pictured clambering up a tree to play as she remained on the ground, scratching herself on a tree trunk. Black bear cubs remain with their mother for about a year after they stop being weaned. They are formidable climbers, with the natural advantage of their short, non-retractable claws
There are an estimated 600,000 black bears in North America, the largest of which have been known to weigh 600lbs.
They most commonly eat plants, insects, fruits, nuts and honey, but also kill salmon as they swim upstream to spawn, and occasionally kill and eat baby deer or moose calves. During hibernation, they can live for more than six months without food.
The bears tend to roam and forage for food alone - with the exception of mothers when they are raising cubs.
Females have up to six cubs, with two the norm, and they continue caring for their young for a year after they stop being weaned from their mother's teat.
The bears are intelligent with colour vision and can run at up to 35mph, but typically they are shy and easily frightened. Attacks on humans are rare and said to be less likely than being killed by a bee sting.
Bear necessities: One of the black bear's two cubs was spotted sheltering midway up a tree as his mother scratched her back on the bark
Patient: The photos were taken by wildlife photographer Ken Archer, 51. He used camouflaged clothes to blend in better with the environment and an extra-long lens
Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2505119/Black-bears-play-hide-seek-images-captured-photographer-Ken-Archer.html#ixzz2kZ7aQZN3
Follow us: @MailOnline on Twitter | DailyMail on Facebook
No comments:
Post a Comment