The next morning, we started out with the goal of the highest peak in our sights. It was much easier going with the record of paths we had already taken. We were in positive spirits.

But we were sober about the challenge, and there are reasons.

The remains of a bear was so terribly torn to pieces. It must have been attacked by a tiger. Along with wolves that we heard in the night, tigers hunt moon bears. A few are likely to be in the area.

We reached the summit and were rewarded with a great view. Hawks circling below, the wind blowing gently, we sat on the rocks and enjoyed a meal of barley and vegetables.

So far, we have not relied on drones. Instead, we carried Mac when he was injured. But as a compromise, we are using AI to locate moon bears. We guess that the AI might recognize moon bear nests, or use altitude and forest density measures, or even compare the record of bear sightings in history. With injured Mac in our minds, using AI seems right.

It directs us to a region around the hill from our camp. So, that is where we will go tomorrow.

We started down with plenty of time. And, with Mac still on our minds, we stopped at various points to photograph birds.