A Magical First Day with Brown Bears
As we arrived on the beach, the first thing that caught my attention was the number of bears we saw immediately. Despite there being so much space on the beach, there were so many bears clustered together. They were barely interacting with each other. Instead, each bear seemed to be fishing or taking a nap.
In front of us, the vast mountains rose above tall grass and scattered trees, which separated them from the expansive beach. As the skiff left us, the sound of the engine disappeared into the distance, and then all that was left to hear was the wind. I felt awestruck.
Our guide pointed out a mother and her two cubs napping in the distance. We all sat down a little ways away from them. (Pictured above)
Other bears were moving upstream with the tide, having to pass the mother and her cubs. Whenever another bear passed, the cubs would puff up behind Mom and start huffing. Mom would lift her head and then, after looking at the other bear, rest it back down.
After a time, she gradually drifted toward our group, occasionally stopping to sniff the air. She got closer to our group, eventually settling down about 20 feet in front of us.
Once Mom and her cubs had settled down on the bank of sand, Mom splayed out in front of us. Her cubs had other ideas. The cubs would not sleep. They were rolling around, looking about, and yawning.
Then Mom sat up.
Mom slowly leaned back onto the sand, and her cubs settled in next to her and began to nurse.
As the cubs began to nurse, I could hear a humming noise. Nursing bear cubs can make a pulsating, motor-like hum, and our guide referred to the sound as “motorboating.” When I tell friends and family about this experience and mention the “motorboat,” they tend to get strange looks on their faces. Keep your mind out of the gutter!
Knowing she was aware of our presence, I felt acknowledged. Being able to witness such a tender moment made me feel privileged. Very few people get the opportunity to be this close to a wild brown bear while her cubs nurse.
Being able to experience nature is something I consider a blessing. Getting to witness something so special made this moment feel truly magical.
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