Dear Wood Folk,
Watching Makwa meet the world has involved countless escape scenes. Most bear sightings outside of the dump are bear backends, feet midair, here one second and gone the next. They are fast runners reaching speeds of 30mph. They can climb a tree in a blink of an eye. Treed they are barely noticeable.
Soon after Makwa first appeared, I noticed him nestled in the weeds around dawn, likely nibbling on a crabapple. Red foxes also like apples. Perhaps the smell of crushed apple flesh lured a fox in his direction.
Once in a while, I would see this particular red fox with the bushiest, most majestic tail I’ve ever seen, affectionately called Tails.
As far as I could tell, Tails noticed Makwa before Makwa noticed Tails. A red fox is typically a quiet loner yet can be gregarious and playful. And our fox friend is quite curious. Tails had to check out this mysterious pup.
Tails did so cautiously, taking a longer route around the small pond instead of beelining. He’d pause here and there to observe this potential new playmate and snack sharer.
I’m not sure at what point Makwa noticed Tails. Black bears have got keen senses as do fox. In the video, you can see that when the fox got within 20 feet or so, the bear noped:
At this point in bears life, it’s all nopes. Black bears are especially skittish as yearlings. I saw a fearless chipmunk tree him. Housecats with gusto are even scarier. And any human noise, even coming down the road and out of view, got him headed into the more secluded woods (thankfully).
The black bear nope is amusing to watch. I’ve put together a compilation of nopes and bear bums for you Wood Folk:
Calmer days are ahead, as the next Wood Folk Diary will highlight Makwa and his butterfly, and other zen activities.
We hope to see you again! Get notifications of new posts here, or follow and set notifications on your favorite social media platform so you won’t miss any of our bear friend’s adventures! Makwa’s next adventure will be released on the 17th of this month, and I hope to publish a new diary on the 17th of every month thereon.
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