Route Editor
Route Scout
In 2007, in northern New Hampshire , a black bear Sow gave birth to five
healthy young.
There were two or three reports of sows with as many as four cubs, but five
was, and is, extraordinary.
I learned of them shortly after they emerged from their den and set myself a
goal of photographing all five cubs with their mom - no matter how much time
and effort was involved..
I knew the trail they followed on a fairly regular basis, usually shortly
before dark.
After spending nearly four hours a day, seven days a week, for six weeks, I
had that once-in-a-lifetime opportunity and photographed them.
I used the equivalent of a very fast film speed on my digital camera.
The print is properly focused and well exposed, with all six bears posing as
if they were in a studio for a family portrait.
into the fall hunting season.
All six bears continued to thrive.
As time for hibernation approached, I found still more folks who had seen
them, and everything remained OK.
I stayed away from the bears as I was concerned that they might become
habituated to me, or to people in general, as approachable friends.
This could be dangerous for both man and animal.
After Halloween I received no further reports and could only hope the bears
survived until they hibernated.
This spring, before the snow disappeared, all six bears came out of their
den and wandered the same familiar territory they trekked in the spring of
2007.
I saw them before mid-April and dreamed nightly of taking another family
portrait, an improbable second once-in-a-lifetime photograph...
