I was driving towards Ashland in northwestern Wisconsin on highway 112.  Just over the white river dam I was surprised to see a large black bear cross the road, followed by two large cubs. Then out of the brush, about 20 seconds behind came a third cub, about half the size of the first two, but running as hard as it could to catch up with the rest.

I was a teacher at Ashland High School and one of my fellow teachers had a bear club. He taught science and would take students in his Bear club out to monitor bear dens in the late winter. They would take out the mother bear and cubs and weigh them. Then they would collect other data on them. I asked about bears and three cubs. He said it wasn’t to rare for a bear to have three cubs, but that seldom did all three survive. The common number was two; or one cub to make it to yearling status. I told him about the three I has seen and where. He said he remember checking a den near there and that there were three cubs. Two had been right by the mother nursing, and the third; kind of pushed off in the corner. But when they went to weigh it, it showed a lot of life and toughness. It was a female and he had named her after his daughter; Emily. When they finished tagging and weighing the bears, they put them back in the den. The teacher watched for awhile to make sure all the bears came to alright. As they did come to, they adjusted rapidly and the last he saw; Emily was pushing her way right in there between her two brothers to nurse.

Well the members of the club and the teacher kept an ear open for any reports on a mother bear and three cubs around the white river. In late June a trout fisherman told of watching a mother bear and three cubs crossing the river. There had been a lot of rain and the river was flowing fast. The mother swam right across and the two larger cubs jumped right in and made it across with only slight problems with the current. The runt dove in and was swept down stream. He watched it bounce off rocks and even go under for a short bit of time. Finally, with great effort, it made it across the river. Then shaking it self off; come running back up stream along the bank. The mother and bigger cubs were eating on a road killed dear. Emily arrived and muscled her way right in there to get her share of food.

That fall some bear hunter reported an encounter with a large mother bear and three cubs. The bear hounds had pursued then out of the woods and across a large field. Once across the mother sent the cubs up a tree. The larger cubs went right up but as usual Emily was behind. The hounds were right on her trail so as she came up to her mother the big bear took one swat with her paw and rolled Emily right over to the nearest tree. Emil regained her senses and scrambled up the tree. Them mother took care of the dogs until the hunters came and collected the dogs. They didn’t want to mess with a mother bear and three cubs.

In late fall a hiker reported seeing a mother bear and three cubs. The cubs were all playing in a small meadow. The bigger two were rough on the runt, but Emily had learned to use her quickness and was holding her own in the scuffles of life. That winter the bigger two cubs had to den on their own; but Emily stayed one more winter with her mother. No reports came in the next summer and it was one year later and the club was checking dens again in the White River area. They came on a den with one mother bear and one small cub. The mother had the cub right up next to her with one leg around the cub. Upon further examination they found her old tag and it was Emily. She was making sure her cub got all the attention that she had missed when she was born.

With bear cubs and in life, many things are not fair or just. The ones that make it are not always the bigger, stronger,or faster ones. Sometimes the ones with the most determination and heart; like Emily, are the one that go on and do well. For you see Emily never gave up or felt sorry for herself. She just kept giving it all she had and faced life with determination and the will power to never accept defeat. A lesson from a little runt bear cub that should give hope and inspiration to all of us.