Black Bear sow enjoys a soak in the South Platte River

Black Bear sow enjoys a soak in the South Platte River. Harkening back to August 2015 for these pictures. A late spring freeze damaged much of the berries at higher altitude that bears depend on for food.

As the summer began to wind down, they were forced to move to lower altitudes to find nourishment and in doing so, put themselves in areas where humans frequent. This did result in some conflicts, primarily due to stupid people getting far too close to the bruins.

However, for responsible wildlife watchers, it was a great opportunity. This particular sow and her two cubs spent time over a couple of days eating along the banks of the river. When the summer heat got to be a bit too much, they would hop in the water and take a break, as she was doing for these shots.