For the past three days I have been searching high and low for a few very special moment in time. I want to capture with my camera some unique behaviors of Black Bears. In particular I am looking for mating behavior. At this time of year, late May and June, is the time Black Bears mate. So what I am looking for is the interaction between a eligible female and a suitor male.

One of the best parts of my job is the ability to spend an intense amount of time observing and learning about an animal and birds behavior. I believe the key to being a successful wildlife photographer is knowing your subject intimately. As a trained biologist I am fascinated with the intricacies of nature. So spending some time with mating Black Bears is a thrill for me. On this trip I will spend nine days observing and photographing bears.

On a tip from a friend I was able to locate a lone female feeding on a large open mountain side. Any lone female at this time of year will attract a male so I decided to stay put. Sure enough the next day a large male (boar) came charging over the hill and ran right up to the female. The female (sow) had her head down grazing on grass and didn’t see the male approaching. When he was within just a dozen or so yards the sow looked up and being startled, turned and ran away. The male followed in hot pursuit. She ran about 100 yards before she suddenly stopped and turned around facing the incoming boar. At this point I was taking a many pictures as my camera would allow.

The male skidded to a stop and before he could explain himself the female was up on her hind legs ready to defend herself. The male slowly approached her and started sniffing her. No doubt he is checking to see if it is her time for mating. She stood there for a moment then fell forward onto all fours. The male circled her sniffing as he went. She stood there frozen. I can just imagine what was going through her head at this moment.

For the next 8-10 hours the pair walked around together feeding side by side, occasionally nuzzling each other. They would lick each other’s faces and then there was more sniffing. In a bears world, it is all about the smell of things. As night started to fall the intimate action picked up and over a hour or so they mated several times.

As darkness descended upon the valley, I headed back from some diner, charge my camera batteries, download all the images I took during the day. I am returning the following morning at day break to see if I can locate the bears again.

The next morning I search and search but was unable to locate the love struck couple. I gave up and checked some other locations and returned for on last check of the love couple around noon. Sure enough I was able to see them off in the distance. Over the next hour or so they made their way closer to me. The weather wasn’t cooperating because it started to rain then it turned over to snow. Ya, I know, snow is June is depressing but this is the mountains and I was above 6,000 foot elevation so I guess you have to expect just about anything when it comes to the weather.

Today the mood seemed very different between the sow and boar. It is much more adversarial. Whenever the male approached the female she would defend herself and try to run away. For the next 5 hours the female spends all her time trying to run away from the male and the male spends all his time trying to stop her. At times they actually start to fight with each other standing on their hind legs, front legs locked in a grip on each other and their mouths gapping open.

Eventually the female is able to make some mad dashes before the male can get out front of her and stop her. Finally she is able to make it to the top of a ridge where they both disappear over the other side. This is when I decide I have seen and photographed enough and call it a day. Until next time…

Stan Tekiela is an author / naturalist and wildlife photographer who travels the US to study and photograph wildlife. He can be followed at facebook.com and twitter.com and also www.naturesmart.com