Bear Stories

Most of my trips to MN do not include a visit with my cousin Greg.  Greg now owns the farm and comes up from the city most weekends.  That means that this year I got to see him.  And I remember how much I like him and all his stories.  We're not close but we are still family.
I found the hot pad at a little roadside store near Fred's house.  I got it in honor of the first bear story Greg told.
He was out hunting bear.  Sitting up in a deer stand in a tree.  Mama bear and her two cubs came through.  He had no interest in them of course.  They stopped right by him.  Mama bear gave a huff and the two little bears went up trees.  One tree right next to the one Greg was in and then one right up his tree.  Little bear sat right on his toes.  Greg looked at the cub and the cub turned and looked at him and they sat there very quietly.  Greg had his rifle right on his lap.  Just in case.  Well turns out there was a big male coming through.  It was the one Greg was hoping to shoot.  Mama bear gave a huff and tangled with the male.  After a couple of minutes the male gave up and went on his way.
Greg had been kind of nudging the cub with his toe trying to get him to just go down.  But that cub was not coming out of that tree until the Mama bear said it was all right.  Well behaved babies.  And Greg wasn't trying all that hard. He didn't want that cub making any noise as that would have brought the Mama bear up in the tree. Greg never got a shot at the male as it never made it to the spot Greg was hoping for.  Mama bear gave a huff and the cubs went down and wondered off.  Greg says maybe he will get that male this year during bear season.
His other bear story happened in Wyoming I believe.  He was out hunting with a friend and he saw a rack of antlers sticking up above the grass.  So he went to see if he could cut them off and pick them up on the way out.  When he got pretty close to the carcass a grizzly bear popped up out of the grass.  They looked at each other.  After a long minute Greg took a step backward.  The bear took a step forward.  Greg estimates they did this dance for about 100 yards before the bear turned around and went back to the carcass.  Greg didn't need those antlers after all.