I got this e-mail from a non-tweeter friend.  It isn't a bird,
but I found it very interesting anyway.  I would never have
thought that a bear could birth, let alone successfully raise, 5 cubs
without loosing even one.  I wonder if maybe they all aren't
hers.  Possibly she "inherited" a few from another sow that
died?

I hope the photos come through!

Will Markey
Auburn

_Beautiful photos!_

_THIS GUY SUBMITS PHOTOS AND ARTICLES FOR A NEWSPAPER HERE CALLED
"NORTH COUNTRY NEWS" HE ALWAYS HAS BEAUTIFUL PHOTOGRAPHS BUT THESE
ARE MAGNIFICENT !_

THE BEARS AND I

Black bears typically have two cubs, rarely one or three. 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 in the shadows and dull
lighting of the evening. Due to these conditions the photograph is a
bit noisy as I had to use 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. ?

I stayed in touch with other people who saw the bears during the
summer and 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. On April 25, 2008 I achieved my dream. When I
showed the result to a woman who had purchased a print of the cubs a
year earlier she exclaimed, I have never seen such an extraordinary
photograph. When something as magical as this happens between man and
animal Native Americans say: We have walked together in the shadow of
a rainbow. And so it is with humility and great pleasure that I share
these photos with you.?

_Sincerely, Tom Sears_

___?_

_ABOVE 2008 FAMILY PORTRAIT - BELOW 2007 FAMILY PORTRAIT!_

_SAME BEAR FAMILY OF SIX!_

__

----- End forwarded message -----
Will Markey