"Being a mother bear is hard work. Cubs need near-constant feeding to put on enough weight to survive their first winter, and even then mortality is high. Tracking this female at Lake Clark National Park, we watched her scan the shoreline and meadows for aggressive males and other females. She steered her cubs clear of trouble long before it arrived. She did it calmly and with grace. Watching the cub look up at her, it was easy to imagine a small voice saying: you are my hero"!