Ranger takes photo of mama bear grieving her cub to show the tragic reality people don’t see
Humans have always claimed to be stewards of nature.
But how can that be true when we are the ones destroying it?
As our species progressed through the ages, our urbanities encroached upon the species around us.
Our progress inadvertently collided with that of other animals â and quite often, resulted in grim realities.
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One such encounter was posted by the Yosemite National Park.
An unnamed ranger shared a powerful and emotional story about a motherâs undying love. It started with a simple statement: Speeding Kills Bear
âWe get this call a lot. Too much, to be honest. ‘Bear hit by vehicle, dead on the side of the road.'”
“Sadly, itâs become routine,â the park ranger shared.
But the events that followed the tragic scene became anything but routine.
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The call came in around 4 PM, but they believe the collision happened sometime around noon.
The location of the bear was an hour away from the station so they would get to the scene closer to five. It was getting late and the ranger had to do what was necessary. He had to get the carcass and move it somewhere safer.
This way, other carrion feeders could scavenge on the remains safely.
It might sound brutal or callous, but such is the cycle of nature and it should be respected.
When they got to the scene, the ranger saw clues of what transpired.
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Some âunnaturalâ debris was in the middle of the road, probably a part of the car that hit the bear.
Not far from the debris was the small body of a cub.
The ranger estimated it to be around six months old. It was balled and laid lifeless under a small pine tree.
A life had ended and the driver had just zoomed away.
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The ranger carried the cub and walked it far into the woods.
They chose a grassy spot with a ring of downed logs. It seemed like a good resting place for the baby. But at that moment, the ranger heard a stick break.
He looked up to see a familiar figure staring back at him.
It was another bear.
It looks like the one they just laid to rest but bigger and older.
Using their training, they drove the bear off by hitting a stick against a tree.
At first, the ranger dismissed it as a coincidence. Maybe the bear was scavenging or using a common bear path.
But it didnât take long before the bear returned.
It grunted this time. But the noise it made meant so much more. It was a call used by mother bears to call their cubs.
“I turn and look in its direction and there she is, the same bear from before intently staring back at me.
“Itâs no coincidence. I can feel the callousness drain from my body.”
“This bear is the mom, and she never left her cub,â the ranger shared in the post.
The bear had been waiting nearly six hours for her deceased cub to wake up.
The scene was absolutely heartbreaking. And as much as the ranger wanted to console the bear, there wasn’t anything he could do.
When the ranger left the mother to be alone with her cub, he set up a remote camera to snap a photo.
According to a blog post from the park, 11 bears were hit by vehicles in 2019.
It also reiterated that this number is just for bears alone.
Other animals are also being hit – animals like owls, Pacific fishers, rare amphibians, deer, and foxes.
In the end, the ranger just asked people one favor when they drive through Yosemite:
âGo the speed limit, drive alertly, and look out for wildlife. Protecting Yosemiteâs black bears is something we can all do.â
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Source: Facebook – Yosemite National Park, TODAY, National Park Service, Instagram – @yosemitenps