Glacier Bay National Park
The day began in fog. Little did we realize that within an hour we would see not only the sun, but otters, orcas, puffins, and sea lions – all before 10:00 a.m. WOW! Trip wasn’t kidding when he said Glacier Bay was an excellent place to look for wildlife. But the best was yet to come. Just after our last bite of the sumptuous brunch served by the cheerful crew, Trip announced that brown bears were just ahead. We grabbed our binoculars and cameras and joined Linda on deck where she had sighted not one, not two, three, or four, but FIVE coastal brown bears – the stuff of legends. Two big, beautiful mother bears were busy teaching their young cubs the ways of the wild. The little ones were “cubs of the year,” meaning they were probably born this last February. Starting out life in the den, they would fit within a teacup. By late July they were up and running. One of the moms was a golden bear as if aglow from within. Her cub, as is typical, was black and will gain its mother’s coloration after a second winter in the den. Together they turned over rocks to search for whatever might be found underneath.
It is often said by the Tlingit people (who call Glacier Bay their homeland) that “when the tide is out, the table is set,” given an abundance of food on shore between high tide and low. Bears often cruise the beaches to see what the receding waters have left behind. Sometimes they get lucky and find a fish, a bit of crab, or a clam. Almost always they find barnacles to squish and lick from their paws. But today something was amiss. At first glance the mother bear appeared to have a tattoo on its back. Hmmmm, does it look like a starfish to anyone else besides me? As we edged closer there was no doubt about it, this bear had a starfish firmly attached to its behind. One could easily speculate about this. Did the bear simply sit in the wrong place at the wrong time, or was this an opportunistic invertebrate looking for an adventure? Or maybe there is an old saying in the starfish world that “when the tide is out, the table is set” and we were witnessing one very ambitious starfish with the catch of a lifetime. Tune in next week for an update…
The day began in fog. Little did we realize that within an hour we would see not only the sun, but otters, orcas, puffins, and sea lions – all before 10:00 a.m. WOW! Trip wasn’t kidding when he said Glacier Bay was an excellent place to look for wildlife. But the best was yet to come. Just after our last bite of the sumptuous brunch served by the cheerful crew, Trip announced that brown bears were just ahead. We grabbed our binoculars and cameras and joined Linda on deck where she had sighted not one, not two, three, or four, but FIVE coastal brown bears – the stuff of legends. Two big, beautiful mother bears were busy teaching their young cubs the ways of the wild. The little ones were “cubs of the year,” meaning they were probably born this last February. Starting out life in the den, they would fit within a teacup. By late July they were up and running. One of the moms was a golden bear as if aglow from within. Her cub, as is typical, was black and will gain its mother’s coloration after a second winter in the den. Together they turned over rocks to search for whatever might be found underneath.
It is often said by the Tlingit people (who call Glacier Bay their homeland) that “when the tide is out, the table is set,” given an abundance of food on shore between high tide and low. Bears often cruise the beaches to see what the receding waters have left behind. Sometimes they get lucky and find a fish, a bit of crab, or a clam. Almost always they find barnacles to squish and lick from their paws. But today something was amiss. At first glance the mother bear appeared to have a tattoo on its back. Hmmmm, does it look like a starfish to anyone else besides me? As we edged closer there was no doubt about it, this bear had a starfish firmly attached to its behind. One could easily speculate about this. Did the bear simply sit in the wrong place at the wrong time, or was this an opportunistic invertebrate looking for an adventure? Or maybe there is an old saying in the starfish world that “when the tide is out, the table is set” and we were witnessing one very ambitious starfish with the catch of a lifetime. Tune in next week for an update…
