Bear tracking

D'Arcy and I drove up to the White Mountains this past weekend to a spot where we were told there were bear tracks. I have only seen bear tracks once before in New Mexico on a Boyscout trip so it was good to see them again. I have often heard bears, mountain lions, and wolves referred to as the Sexy Megafauna. This is sort of a joking term used to poke at the fact that land managers give an unproportional amount of attention to these exciting animals and overlook how important something like moles, for example, might be to an ecosystem. I however, love tracking the Sexy Megafauna. Here are some pictures. We also found some very nice Mink and Beaver tracks.

Having found and journaled black bear tracks, I only have one species left (Ruffed Grouse) for the advanced completion certificate of the White Pine Tracking Apprenticeship. Here are the ones I've journaled: Virginia Opossum, Eastern Coyote, Red Fox, Gray Fox, Domestic Dog, Black Bear, Raccoon, River Otter, American Mink, Bobcat, Domestic Cat, White-Tailed Deer, Moose, Beaver, Groundhog, Muskrat, Porcupine, Snowshoe Hare, Cottontail, Red Squirrel, Grey Squirrel, Chipmunk, Mouse, Meadow Vole, Mole, Shrew, Wild Turkey, Great Blue Heron, Mourning Dove, Rock Dove, Robin, Sparrow, Crow, Raven, Frog, Toad, Striped Skunk and Canada Lynx.

"Nature does not stagnate. It is a flowing river. We seek to ride down this river. To surrender to its speed and direction. We do not want to hold our position, standing in or wading across the river. Or worse, to deny its existence. For where the river of nature flows, also flows the river of spirit." -anonymous tracker