Paul has now brought home all of my trail cameras for the season. Hopefully, next spring may see me able to do some of that again myself. Activity at the bear tree had slowed, with only one bear recorded by the cameras. He, or she, was obviously in fine fat condition for a long winter's nap and the attention paid to the message tree was minimal https://vimeo.com/192578845

Several whitetail bucks had also visited the Bear Tree. It is ideally located beside a trail, just where bucks in the rut like to post their messages. It appeared, however, that the strong scent of bear may have been a major deterrent!

See also: https://vimeo.com/192585038

The first snow of the year seemed to bring out the play behaviour in three sparring bucks https://vimeo.com/192580427

One of the bucks that visited the area carried a set of antlers that would make any hunter proud.

See: https://vimeo.com/192583638

Paul has brought me more pictures from our trail cameras at the bear tree. This first one shows a bear standing beside the tree and the second, a bear near the adjacent pond, which is almost dry at this season and filled with tall yellow grasses.

This video is a compilation of shorter strips taken during a 12 day period at the bear tree. Some of the pictures were taken at night. Notice how the bears examine the tree to determine what other beard have recently visited and left their scent messages. Then they rub their bodies against the tree, leaving messages of their own. On leaving the tree they walk in a peculiar stiff-legged way, pressing each foot firmly into the ground to leave distinct prints.
https://vimeo.com/188591557

Notice how fat the bears are at this season. Soon they will go into dens for the winter, eating nothing until they emerge next spring.

Paul also prepared two shorter videos of bears on the trail that leads to and from the bear tree. This first one shows a bear that has found the monitoring camera and has moved up close to examine it:
https://vimeo.com/188596905

Sometimes bears actually remove cameras from their positions affixed to trees, damaging cameras in the process. Paul found one camera that had been carried in the mouth of a bear quite some distance along a trail. It had taken pictures of the bear's legs and feet while being carried!

The last video is again of bears on the trail. Notice the bear tree in the distance-where the first bear  examines it before quickly moving on; https://vimeo.com/188597938

The videos listed below are the ones that Paul has prepared from pictures taken by trail cameras at the Bear Tree. It is unusual to see two or more adult male black bears together in their natural environment. Perhaps these two large bears are twin brothers, to be so tolerant of each other's company.

https://vimeo.com/186022643

https://vimeo.com/186015257

https://vimeo.com/186005963

My friend, Paul, continues to monitor my trail cameras for me. We have some more action at the Bear Tree to share with you, but first, I wanted to show you some pictures of coyotes. They are beautiful now in their new fall and winter coats.

Roly-poly twin bear cubs have lots of fun and games but sometimes things can get serious too! I enjoyed seeing these trail camera pictures of a couple of Okanagan bear cubs boxing --and I think that you will too: [You can click on the pictures to make them larger.]

This video of a black bear with a large white blaze mark on his chest was actually recorded by two of my trail cameras at the Bear Tree last May. Although I showed part of it in my Catch of the Day message at that time, it seems worth repeating in full. https:
 https://vimeo.com/185258677


This Bear Tree seems to be uniquely popular among the resident and transient bears, for it is visited by bears of all ages and sizes, all apparently keenly intent on leaving their own scent messages.

Recently, a trail camera on the upper Powers Creek trail recorded a video of a bobcat. It was just walking by but since pictures of this elusive cat are rather rare, I want to share it with you: https://vimeo.com/183940253

Bobcats visit residential areas too, in this area, often in the winter. Here are a couple of pictures of bobcats that were taken right behind our house, when we lived in Canyon Ridge.

 Another trail camera picture attached shows a bobcat about to cross lower Powers Creek, in the Glen Canyon regional Park. Without the trail camera pictures and seeing their tracks in the snow, one would never know that these wild cats  are among us.

By the way, I will not always send these Catch messages by email. It is more convenient to just use my blog, so if you have been relying on getting them by email, please log into my blog and register for “following by email”. In the upper right corner of the blog you will see a button labelled “Register”.