The
Bear Essentials
By
Crede Calhoun chief Guide for Camp
Earth and owner of Windrushonline
Garrett County is blessed with a nice healthy population of Black Bears (Ursus Americanus). Estimates place the bear population at between 350 and 450 bears. At the turn of the century the bear population was almost zero, but over the years they have made a great comeback.
Black bears are very smart. Normally they are very shy and tend to avoid human contact. In the history of Maryland there has never been a documented case of a bear attacking a human. Black bears are primarily vegetarians and they have a varied diet, although they will eat meat when they find a carcass. They rarely hunt since it is very hard for bear to sneak up on prey. They primarily eat roots, berries, and insects, and of course they love honey.
A male bear is called a boar and they grow larger than the females. A mature boar at six years of age may weigh 200 to 350 lbs. However, live-trapped specimens weighing in at 850 lbs. or more have been measured in Pennsylvania. The average lifespan of a black bear in the wild is 20 years.
Black Bears are solitary animals except during the breeding season. This is because of the huge amount food and area it takes to feed each bear. Each bear has an area called a territory that it defends from others, particularly when it has young to feed. Male territories are larger than females, often as large as several hundred square miles, and they may range 50 miles or more in a day looking for food. Several female territories may be inside and overlapping a male's territory.
Bears mark their territory by standing up to a tall tree and using their claws to scratch a mark as high as they can reach. If another male bear comes along that can scratch higher, the smaller current territory holder will avoid confrontation and may move from the area entirely
One of the bears traits is that they remember the location of food sources. This ability helps them survive since once they find a good honey tree or other food source they will come back time after time. This is why it is important to always keep food sources away from bears. If a bear finds garbage at your house once then you can be pretty sure he will return again. Many of the homes near bear habitat now are using bear proof garbage containers in an effort to remove garbage as a food source. Keeping the outside of our homes clean and free of food sources is important to prevent bears from visiting.
Several years ago there was a garbage dump near Deep Creek Lake that the bears frequented. The dump was fenced off and bears could no longer get to the garbage. Since then bears have been visiting local homes more often in their search for easy food sources. One of the things bears like is birdseed so birdfeeders are something that can attract them. We all like to feed birds, but in our area it is best to let Mother Nature feed the birds.
It is important to give bears their space. Many people get upset when the bear doesn't run away when they make noise or try and scare the bear. We have to remember that in the wild the bear has no predators so it doesn't make much sense for the bear to be afraid of us.
It is always best for us just to leave the bear alone and admire him/her from a distance. One of the things to always be aware of is the protective instincts of a mother bear. It is always foolish to threaten, harass, or bother bear cubs. Getting between a mother bear and her cubs can be dangerous, especially if the mother feels her cubs are in danger. In the wild a mother will run her cubs up a tree if she feels they are in danger, and then return later when the coast is clear. Bears that are used to human contact are the bears to be most cautious around.
We do a lot of hiking in the Maryland Wildlands and we occasionally see bears on our hikes. 100% of the time these bears run away as soon
as they catch our smell or see us. Wild bears are very timid and always
seem to run away quickly. Most of the times we mostly just see tracks.
Apples are one of the bears favorites so if you find apple trees chances
are pretty good that if you look closely you will find claw marks where
the bear has climbed the tree to shake out a few apples.
One time I was out in the woods and a bear was coming towards me on the trail. He had his head down and didn't notice me up ahead. Perhaps the wind was blowing so he couldn't smell me or he was preoccupied with whatever he was doing but he just kept on coming and got within about 40 feet before I got a little a nervous. I made a quick movement and yelled "hey bear". He looked up and stopped. As soon as he figured it out he took off in a big hurry down the mountainside.
We can live side by side with bears if we just remember to give them space, and keep food sources away from them. Having bears nearby says something good about the natural quality of the area. Every part of nature has an important role to play and we must try and share the land with all of the creatures. Our area would be much poorer if we had no bears.
Native Americans would look to the animals to teach them things about the way things work. The bear was very sacred to the Indians and they regarded bears as a very wise creature. If we look at the way a bear lives we can learn many things. The mother bear teaches the cubs all they need to know. She usually keeps the cubs with her for two years. The long teaching period and her protective instincts can teach something about the importance of teaching our children and the importance of protecting our children from danger. A mother bear will sometimes sacrifice her life when protecting her cubs from aggressive male bears.
Bears are protected in Maryland and there is no hunting season. Some people think we should hunt them, but the majority feel we should not have a hunting season. Many states allow the hunting of bears with dogs. We can only hope that if Maryland does someday have a hunting season that they will require hunters to hunt them without dogs. It doesn't seem very fair or sporting to hunt these magnificent creatures with dogs.
With a little common sense and understanding, we can live side by side with these beautiful creatures.
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