Big Guys

Yesterday I checked several of my camera traps in the Big Woods. Two of the cameras had photos of bears. The first camera I checked had a photo of two bears, both adults. The animal closest to the camera seemed to be interested in or annoyed by the camera – a reaction that camera traps elicit from many bears.

Here in northcentral Pennsylvania late June is the peak of breeding season for black bears. In this case the camera may have been an annoying distraction from the bear’s amorous interest in the other animal.

Two days later, on a morning when it was raining fairly hard, the same camera again took a photo of two bears. Unfortunately, there was rain on the lens – how much better the photo would have been if the lens had been dry. This time the following animal was a large male, the other was obviously smaller and almost certainly a female.

That evening, while it was still raining, a second camera about one-quarter mile away took a photo of a large male bear. 

Although at first I thought the two cameras photographed the same large male, but when the photos are side by side it appears they were two different bears.

What do you think?