I just finished watching a video posted on facebook about sloth babies. There were several links. Who knew baby sloths could be so cute?
I started thinking about the animals I have photographed and it seems to me that my favorites among mammals are always pictures of the babies. I find animal behavior fascinating between mothers and offspring, as well as between siblings.
I am amazed at the instincts even the youngest animals possess and the way they communicate with parents and with each other.
It was my great privilege a few summers ago to watch a mother bear with her FIVE cubs and Kingdom Come State Park in Cumberland, KY. A mother bear usually only gives birth in January to one or two cubs. Three is unusual. Four is unlikely. Five is extraordinary!
There was a regular group of people that drove from around the region to try and get a glimpse of these nature babies. We nicknamed ourselves “The Bear Watchers.”
One of the children in the group named the mother bear Mimosa. We also named the cubs: Alpha (the male who dominated the other four and followed in his mother’s shadow always); Hickory (the tree climber who fell out of one onto the road and nearly killed himself); the twins (who were identical and always stuck together); and Runt (because he/she was the smallest of the five and always the one tagging along behind).
These bears showed great intelligence, affection for each other, playfulness, and curiosity about the world around them. The mother bare cared for them, taught them, and stood on the ready to protect them. Catching sight of them was a thrill and on the occasions when they came out in a place where the Bear Watchers could watch them for half an hour or so was a pure joy.
We learned a lot from these nature babies. I will attach more photos below.
2 Samuel 17:8
Moreover, Hushai said, “You know your father and his men, that they are mighty men and they are fierce, like a bear robbed of her cubs in the field.”
Queen of Ordinary 