Category Archives: Black Bear
Hazelnuts – a Favorite Food
Hazelnuts are one of the most important and preferred bear foods in northeastern Minnesota. Across North America, availability of hard mast (nuts and acorns) is a major predictor of bear growth…
Care of Newborn Cubs
Newborn cubs are smaller, relative to their mother’s size, than the young of any other placental mammal. They are totally dependent on their mothers. Newborn cubs have little fur, weigh…
What If I Corner a Black Bear?
Bear Center researchers wonder where the worry about cornering a black bear comes from. It is next to impossible to corner a bear in the woods. When researchers have tried…
How Did White Fur Become Established?
How did white fur become established among the black bears of Princess Royal and Gribbell Islands? No one really knows, but the thinking, in general, goes like this. Mutations frequently…
The Cubs Develop
By the end of February, cubs are 4 to 6 weeks old and usually weigh 2-3 pounds. They have dense fur almost an inch long. They can thermo-regulate to some…
What If a Black Bear Ignores Me and Doesn’t Run Away?
Some black bears have learned to trust people who behave predictably in expected locations. These bears expect to see nonaggressive people in campgrounds or residential areas. These bears are not…
Animal Protein
Insects and animal matter are less than 10% of the annual black bear diet around Ely and across most of North America. Across America, exceptions occur along the Pacific coast…
How Do Black Bears Respond to Mirrors?
Self awareness is a measure of intelligence. A captive chimpanzee reportedly sat in front of a mirror in a cage and eventually touched a dot on its forehead, showing that…
What is a Spirit Bear?
Spirit bears are rare black bears with white or creamy fur, brown eyes, dark nose pads, and nearly white claws. They are not polar bears or albinos. Maybe 100 exist….
Dealing with Water in the Den
Water in dens is a problem, especially for mothers with cubs. Newborn cubs that are too young to walk in January, February, or early March can be killed from exposure…
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