Looking Back - Bear Country Critters

 We have so many wonderful sights and scenes and memories on which to look back in our years of workamping — so many from Bear Country USA especially. Here is a sampling of critters we were privileged to see nearly every day in the summer of 2006. There is a magnificent herd of elk in the drive-through portion of the park as well as reindeer and several varieties of mountain goats and sheep. This beautiful big guy is just getting his new sprouting of antlers, still in velvet.

 Pretty foxes, one of my favorite animals.

 The two grizzlies were a constant source of amusement and inspired not a little awe. This is Cherokee, the female, making a funny face for the tourists.

 And, just to prove that grizzlies can climb trees, too, here is Cherokee again, mastering this very scrawny pine. Tank, her mate, waits at the bottom for the daring climb to end. He looks a little bored!

 The tourist industry in Rapid City would yearly host a showing of the various attractions in the area. Each one would have a booth with information, handouts, and folks to man the booth, which we were doing here. Our Bear Country display happened to be right next to the Reptile Gardens booth, which came complete with live examples of what one might see there. This yellow fellow got quite a bit of attention! After a bit of trepidation we weren't too "yellow" to hold him.

 Of course, every tourist attraction needs a mascot. There is a brave teenager in that costume, greeting the tourists, handing out treats for the kids, and even doing a little dance to special "bear" tunes. Bet it was hot in there!

 The bear cubs, usually between 10-15 each summer, were the most popular attraction of all. The tourists would stay lined up along the fence watching the cubs' hilarious antics for long periods of time, moving along reluctantly only when the little guys collapsed into sleep. There would be a young employee standing inside the enclosure several times a day interacting with the cubs and giving a talk about bear life, always very interesting.

I had several "favorite" critters. One was the porcupine. You would think they were not so interesting, with their slow movements and their prickly "stay away from me" coats, but I was fascinated to watch them eat. They would hold their food in their little hands and nibble away much as we would do. They made a soft humming sound towards each other. I will never forget the exciting days we spent at Bear Country, still our favorite job. I wish we could be there still!

14 Black Bear Cubs

These 14 black bear cubs spend most of their time, running, tussling, climbing, wrestling, swimming, or else sleeping in a pile. That makes it very difficult to get a good picture. This morning we hit it just right. It was early, they hadn't been fed yet, and when they heard the sound of our Kawasaki Mule they looked up in anticipation (Sorry, guys, we don't have any food for you!) and held relatively still for this photo. They've grown so much from the tiny 3 month old cubs we first saw in early May. They are about 7 months old now. After their year in Babyland they will spend 2 more years together in the kindergarten or teenage area before they are large enough to join the BIG bears in the drive-through section of the park. The most difficult part of our job is driving past the cubs without stopping to watch them! The laughter and excitement of the tourists hanging over the rails, madly clicking their cameras and declaring their wish to take a cub home, is a delight to see!

Wild Burros in Custer State Park

In Custer State Park there are a large number of "wild" burros who have learned how to milk the tourists. These burros are descendants of the ones used to haul people to the top of Harney Peak. They stand along the road looking so adorable and comical (and hungry) that people can't resist stopping to pet them and feed them whatever they may find in their cars. Some come prepared, as we did, with carrots or other "healthy" food, and the others haul out their cookies, chips, etc. The burros love it all. Today there were several cute, fuzzy little colts and some smaller adult burros, but the larger ones seemed very aggressive in trying to get me to feed them carrots . I got a little nervous at one point when I was penned in between 3 or 4 bigger burros all demanding carrots, so I made a hurried escape to the car! In the last picture you can see a nosy burro still looking for a treat. These critters are very well-fed and healthy-looking from the abundance of natural fodder in the Hills. It's great fun to experience feeding the burros and we are disappointed when they are not out on the road. They mix well with the buffalo and the pronghorns, also.