My wife and I spotted this momma bear and three cubs on our last trip through Cade's Cove in the Great Smokey Mountains National Park a couple of weeks ago. These bears were on the back side of meadow between two and three hundred yards away. We pulled off the road and watched the group for about 45 minutes before they wandered back into the woods. A nearby park ranger said these three cubs were born somewhere around the middle of February.I shot these images with my Oly E-3 [2:1 crop factor] and Sigma 50-500 telephoto on a monopod.
And yes, the cub in the upper left portion of the three-shot is setting on it's haunches batting the flowers from paw to paw. [awe-factor of 10+!]
What a great experience, to be so close to a bear family (or at least that is close enough for me). Isn't 3 cubs a little unusual? Poor mama, triplets must be a lot of work.
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