Understanding Black Bears Steve Hall Adirondack Wildlife Refuge & Rehab Center www.AdirondackWildlife.org 977 Spring

1. Understanding Black Bears Steve Hall Adirondack Wildlife Refuge & Rehab Center www.AdirondackWildlife.org 977 Springfield Rd., Wilmington, NY

2. Understanding Black Bears • What We Do at ADK Wildlife • Which Bears Live Where? • A Uniquely American Bear • Black Bears Through the Seasons • Denning & Hibernation • Causes of Mortality • Protecting Bears • Camping & Living with Bears around • The Truth about Bear Attacks Adirondack Wildlife Refuge & Rehab Center www.AdirondackWildlife.org

3. What we do at ADK Wildlife Refuge & Rehab Center:Rehab Injured Wildlife Need Licenses from US Fish & Wildlife & NY DEC! Work with veterinarians & volunteers 3 possible outcomes: Animal recovers & is released - 70% Animal dies - 15% Animal recovers, can’t be released – 15% Want to help? Be Prepared Throw a blanket & box in the car Never touch raccoon, fox or bat www.AdirondackWildlife.org

4. What we do at ADK Wildlife Refuge & Rehab Center:Education with Non-Releasable Wildlife Need License from US Fish & Wildlife www.AdirondackWildlife.org

5. Friends & Volunteers www.AdirondackWildlife.org

6. Featuring Wolves, Coywolves, Fox, Bobcat, Eagles, Owls, Hawks & Falcons – Learn about Critical Habitat Issues Adirondack Habitat Awareness Day Adirondack Wildlife Refuge & Rehab Center 977 Springfield Road, Fishing Access, Wilmington, NY 12997 Sunday, Sept. 1st: 10 AM-5 PM 866-235-9655 www.AdirondackWildlife.org 855-WolfMan Dr. Curt Stager: Flora, Fauna & Climate Change - Dr. Nina Schoch: Loons as Indicator Species - Dave Gibson of Adirondack Wild : State of the Park – Laurie Lafond of IBA: Critical Grasslands Habitat - Dr. Dan Hall: Canine Cardiac Health - DEC: Soil & Water Conservation – Andy Joachim & Steve Hall: Wolves, Bear & “Bruce the Moose” – Dr. Jon Way: Coywolves - David Fadden: Mohawk Story Teller - Wildlife Rehab, Bird Banding & Release - Ausable River Assoc. – Refreshments by Green Goddess - No Admission Charge: Any Donations go to Adirondack Wildlife, Inc., 501c non-profit.

7. Black Bear Range • 500,000 in North America • 7,000 in New York State • 4,000 in the Adirondacks • Pennsylvania # 1 state in lower 48 for black bear Habitat • Oak uplands, maple swamps & wet thickets • Younger pregnancies, larger litters & larger bears! Kingdom: Animalia Phylum: Cordata Class: Mammalia Order: Carnivora Family: Ursidae Species: Ursus Americanus http://www.dec.ny.gov/animals/7215.html www.AdirondackWildlife.org

8. Grizzly Bear • 60,000 in North America • Evolved in Asia, crossed the Bering Land Bridge 100,000 years ago • Anatomy: basically a Carnivore • Behaviour: basically an omnivore • Grizzly vs. Brown Bear Kingdom: Animalia Phylum: Cordata Class: Mammalia Order: Carnivora Family: Ursidae Species: Ursus Arctos www.AdirondackWildlife.org

9. Alaskan Brown www.AdirondackWildlife.org

10. Polar Bear • 20 to 25,000 worldwide • Strict Carnivore • 750 – 1,500 lbs. • Evolutionary split from Grizzlies in Asia after glacial isolation about 130k yrs • Grizzly-Polar hybrids Kingdom: Animalia Phylum: Cordata Class: Mammalia Order: Carnivora Family: Ursidae Species: Ursus Maritimus www.AdirondackWildlife.org

11. Black Bear Basic Facts • Males 150 to 550 lbs, avg. 300 • Females 90 to 300 lbs, avg. 170 • Avg. life span about 15 years in the wild. • Best sense of smell, many sound expressions. • Anatomically basically a carnivore • Behaviourly mainly an omnivore • Walks pigeon-toed, runs up to 30 mph • Powerful shoulders & arms • Curved Claws for climbing • Dexterous paws for manipulating • Marks by clawing, biting, & body-rubbing trees, peeing & stiff-legged paw tracks. • Expanding from Adirondack, Catskill & Alleghany ranges • Brown Color Phases out west Ted, heavyweight at the Int’l Bear Center in Ely, Minn. www.AdirondackWildlife.org

12. Black Bears Had A Scary & Difficult History • Pleistocene Freezer • Ancestors Crossed Bering Land Bridge about 500,000 years ago • Seasonal Availability of Food • Short-Faced Bear • Bergman’s Rule Artodus simus www.AdirondackWildlife.org

13. Black Bear or Grizzly? Cinnamon black bear, Dan Hall, Ontario 1990 Adirondack Black Bear –rear pad Denali grizzly – front pad Bears come in different color phases www.AdirondackWildlife.org

14. Black Bearthrough the Seasons www.AdirondackWildlife.org

15. Spring – Wake Up! • Biochemical narcosis • Adults continue to burn fat & lose weight • Cubs nurse & continue to gain weight • Mom teaches foraging • Where, what & when • Food sources • Squirrels’ nut caches • Early Spring vegetation: • grasses skunk cabbage & fiddleheads • Roots, corms. Early fruits & leaves • catkins • High protein, low cellulose • Carrion • Predation of fawns and moose calves • June: Ants, ant pupae, bees, yellow jackets Denali, May 2012, by Kim Fedkiw www.AdirondackWildlife.org

16. Summer – Dinner & Romance • Mating in late June or early July • Sow Promiscuity during a lengthy Estrus • Ten to 30 minute copulation • Delayed implantation • Fat sow becomes pregnant when she dens & blastocyst attaches to uterine wall • Blastocysts in anorexic sows dissolve • “Soft Mast” - Berry crops • July: pin cherries, sarsaparilla berries, and blueberries • August: red raspberries , choke cherries, dogwood fruits and blackberries • Drought means berry crop failure, & more bears in the campground www.AdirondackWildlife.org

17. Territories • Dispersal • Territory Sizes Depend…. • …on Gender • …Time of Year • … and Food Availability • More fluid than Wolf Pack territories • …and more tolerant! • Mother Territories and Daughter Territories www.AdirondackWildlife.org

18. Autumn – Time to Get fat! • What is Hyperphagia? • Going from eating 5 to 8 kilocalories per day, to 15 to 20. • Feed up to 20 hours per day! • ”Bear’s Nests” in the trees • Mast bounty = Rodent explosion & more predators • Mast Failures & the Fall Shuffle • September: • American mountain-ash berries, black cherries, mountain holly fruits, and hazelnuts • October: • beechnuts, acorns, wild apple, arrowwood and wild raisin. www.AdirondackWildlife.org

19. Denning – The Long Nap • Dens may be caves, hollows in trees, under your porch, or just a clearing in some brush • Dens may be lined with leaves, boughs, grasses • Timing all about Latitude! • Pregnant sows den 1st in late September through October • Sows with yearling cubs den together, and barren sows by late October • Boars den by mid to late Nov • Low Den Re-use, except by pregnant sows • No cohabitation http://fw.ky.gov/blackbearreproduction.asp www.AdirondackWildlife.org

20. Hibernation or Dormancy? • Seasonal reduction of metabolism, concurrent with reduction in food availability and temperature. • Bears Burn Fat, not Protein • Produces more energy & more water, but less urine, which is recycled anyway. • Urea in blood -> CO2, H20 & Ammonia. • Nitrogen shuttle: Ammonia & Glycerol produces amino acids & protein • 3 grams of urea nitrogen -> 21 grams of protein, required to develop one cub. • Lose 25% to 40% of Body Mass, but not lean body mass • Hibernation period -> latitude & climate • Fat Trigger? • Black bears can only hibernate in Winter, while polar bears can hibernate at any time N.A. Bear Center – “June” denning http://www.flickr.com/groups/1379701@N23/discuss/72157627795123302/ www.AdirondackWildlife.org

21. Pregnancy & Birth • Delayed implantation • Fat sow becomes pregnant when she dens • Blastocysts in anorexic sows dissolve • Sows give birth in January during virtual starvation, an “external” pregnancy • Cubs weigh about 12 oz at birth • About 10 lbs. by April • Orphaned cubs may be placed with nursing sow • Mama’s milk 25-30% fat, low carbo, high in ash, calcium & phosphorus, from 6 nipples. http://dnr.wi.gov/org/land/wildlife/PUBL/wlnotebook/bear.htm www.AdirondackWildlife.org

22. Medical Interests in Studying Bears • Gallstone Treatment • Kidney Disease • From studying Hibernation processes: • Atherosclerosis • Muscle Cramps • Bone Calcium Loss • Renal disease • Anorexia • Skin regeneration • Suspended animation North American Bear Center www.bear.org www.AdirondackWildlife.org

23. Are Bears Intelligent? Can They Reason, Understand & Learn? www.AdirondackWildlife.org

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27. How Intelligent are Bears? • Grizzlies and calves • Yosemite: the “VW Bear” www.AdirondackWildlife.org

28. Camping in Bear Country Local DEC Number: 518-897-1291 • Keep a Clean Campsite! • Use Bear Canisters: “BearVault” brand may not be reliable yet • Store the food away from the Campsite! • Prepare food at least 100 ft. away from sleeping area • Bear encounters • Bang Pots & Pans together! • Don’t Challenge the Bear Above, DEC biologist Lou Berchielli with “Yellow-Yellow”, left campers in High Peaks, both from Adirondack Daily Enterprise www.AdirondackWildlife.org

29. Living in Bear Country • Lock your doors & windows! • Don’t Feed Them! • Pet Food Bowls • Bird Feeders • Camp Fire Food • Compost • Secure Your Trash • Use Solar Electric Fencing Photo by Deb MacKenzie www.AdirondackWildlife.org

30. Causes of Mortality • Habitat Loss • Forest Fragmentation • Hunting In 28 states • Reintroduced in Arkansas & Louisiana • Avg. age of bears killed by hunters in Minn. • Males – 2, females - 3 • Poaching • Asian Market for Gall Bladders & Bear Paws • South Korean “Hanyuk” medicine • Guided Hunts • Cubs & Yearlings • Starvation, predation, parasites & falls • Motor Vehicle http://www.dec.ny.gov/outdoor/28605.html www.AdirondackWildlife.org

31. Protecting the Black Bear • Maintaining Wilderness • Sanctuaries • Protecting Sows through Adjusting Hunting Seasons • Stiffer penalties for Poaching & illegal trade in animal http://www.cawtglobal.org/wildlife-crime/ www.AdirondackWildlife.org

32. The Truth about Bear Attacks • “You only read about a bear when he bites someone” • Bart the Bear • Grizzly attacks in US-Canada: 4 – 6 per year • How many people see Grizzlies up close? • Fatal Black Bear attacks - 23 in last 100 years • Spider bites: 17 times as many fatalities • snakebite 25, Domestic dogs 67, Lightening 374 • If attacked, then what? • Pepper Spray or Firearms? • Predatory or Defensive attack? www.AdirondackWildlife.org

33. Where the Wild Things Were • Nature is a Top-Down System • Predators • Herbivores • Plants • Trophic Cascades • Otters, Kelp & Killer Whales • Conservation Biology & Biodiversity www.AdirondackWildlife.org http://www.lausd.k12.ca.us/Figueroa_EL/lifescience4.htm

34. References on Black Bears Main reference for this presentation: “Great American Bear”, by Jeff Fair http://www.bear.org/website/ www.AdirondackWildlife.org

35. Learn more! Google these Bear Experts Gary Alt, Pa. Stephen Herrero, Calgary Ben Kilham, New Hampshire Lynn Rogers, Minnesota James Halfpenny, Yellowstone Jeff Fair, New Hampshite Doug Peacock, Montana Charlie Russell, Kamchatka www.AdirondackWildlife.org

36. Other Critters at the Refuge www.AdirondackWildlife.org

37. Thank You! Adirondack Wildlife Refuge & Rehab Center www.AdirondackWildlife.org 977 Springfield Rd., Wilmington, NY 12997 1-855-Wolf-Man