When I lived on a fish hatchery in northern Arizona, we used to see a mama bear and 1 or 2 cubs every spring/early summer. It always amazed me how silently they could walk. Seemed one spring was particularly dry, the dogs and I saw the bear family outside one corner of the fence in the evening. I was SURE I kept mama in sight, when I realized my dogs were at the other corner, and wouldn't you know it, there was mama and the cubs. How she got through the dry leaves and twigs so quietly was beyond me.