Through my experiences with this particular bear, I have come to learn much about the species. A bear’s behavior relies largely on instinct, yet, they are highly intelligent animals. They can determine whether they are being stalked by a hunter or watched by a photographer. They know what plants to ingest for tapeworm and which to eat for indigestion. Bears recognize a familiar scent from year to year and remember where the best food sources are. They have an incredible sense of smell, excellent hearing and can distinguish movement and color in all levels of light. Kodiak brown bears are unique in such a way that they have been isolated from other brown bears for 12,000 years and are indigenous to Kodiak Island. In the spring of 2001, Edna came back with three cubs, two males and one female. This is one year later than expected, which may have been due to an injury she sustained the prior year. Female bears will normally begin to mate from 5-7 years of age. Edna was a cub when I had my first encounter with her and she was entering her 8th season when she returned with cubs. Each year has rewarded me with a unique experience as I have watched her grow. She is an attentive and protective mother bear. She spends endless hours playing with and teaching her cubs how to survive. When nursing, she cradles them with her paws while rocking back and forth, the cubs reciprocate by purring quite loudly, voicing their contentment. Edna was back with her cubs in 2002 and all are healthy. We are hoping she will spend another season with them, though they were extremely independent this year. We were surprised to see them efficiently catching fish on their own and chasing other bears from their feeding area. Edna has established herself as the alpha female where she feeds and can clear 10 or more bears from the area with her mere presence. This is a trait her cubs can clearly be seen developing. During the spring of 2003, Edna released her cubs and they are now on their own. They appear to be healthy and are staying together which they may very well do for the next two years. Edna herself was doing quite well and would act in an aggressive manner towards her cubs when they came around. This is normal behavior for sows that have recently released their cubs and later encounter them in the same area. We will continue to post updates here on Edna and her cubs. If you look closely at the above picture of Edna, you will notice she appears to have six toes, this is actually her making use of both her front and rear paw in unison while eating. We were hoping to see Edna back with cubs in 2005, but she was on her own. She appears to be healthy and behaving as the usual alpha female we have witnessed over the years. We have seen two of her three cubs in the area, one male and one female, both of which she acts aggressively towards. We will keep our hopes up that 2006 will welcome her with a new litter. |
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