Black Bear Is One That Frequents Northland
The black bear is the only bear of the four species on our continent that frequents our area. It came over on the Bering Land Bridge about 500,000 years ago.
A larger black bear male weighs between 300 to 400 pounds. It does not have the shoulder “hump,” characteristic of the grizzly bear. It has a straight face when seen in profile. It has 42 teeth, with the canines being long and well pointed. Each foot has five toes, each having strong claws. It is the only North American bear that often climbs trees as an adult.
The color range of the black bear varies from black to brown to smoky-blue. Extremely rare are black bears with white pelage. They inhabit forests and swamps in the lower 48 states including northern Minnesota.
The black bear does not migrate, although adult males will wander over large areas. Females with cubs stay in a more restricted area. Food is what usually determines the bear’s range, with five to 15 miles usually being enough to satisfy a bear’s needs.
This bear is one of the most intelligent of wild mammals. It, like the whitetail deer, has survived in close proximity to humans. It is able to conceal itself from humans, can move swiftly and is mainly nocturnal.
When it comes out of dormancy it gorges on water. Their intestines must be soaked with water to allow them to regain elasticity. Spring brings buds and grasses and the bears eagerly eat them. Later berries ripen and the bears “pig out.” Later in the season starchy plant bulbs are torn from the earth and eaten.
As fall arrives black bears hit wild apple trees and risk raiding domestic orchards and garbage. When acorns are prevalent, especially white oak acorns, which are sweeter than others, the bears make these their main food. Other foods of the bear include beetles, ants, honey and bees. The thick fur of the bear makes it almost immune to bee stings. When a bear raids cultivated beehives a conflict with man obviously occurs.
Black bears do on occasion eat meat. Mice, marmots, squirrels and the young of deer and grouse and moose are included in their diet. Sick and injured adult game animals will also be eaten. Bears like pork and as with the beekeeper, conflicts with livestock owners may result.
As winter arrives the bears develop layers of fat, often up to five inches thick. A bear killed in Wisconsin had fat that weighed 212 pounds. That amount of fat would render 20 gallons of bear oil!
Bears go into a state of dormancy. This is not true hibernation as their body temperature drops only a few degrees and they retain a high degree of metabolism. True hibernators cannot become instantly active when hibernating. One of the bear’s defenses is that it may bolt from a den when need be. Dens constitute large roots of deaf-fallen trees, caves, and abandoned mine shafts and the like.
Having what appears to be small eyes, black bears are probably near-sighted. Their diet is about 75% vegetation and keen sense of sight is not needed to forage plants. Its sense of smell is good and probably this animal’s greatest asset. They have a good sense of taste and is probably why they have a “sweet-tooth.” As a rule they do not make noise but when in their own company will grunt, cough, snort, snarl and growl as well as roar. Cubs can whimper and squeak when they cry, when frightened.
With a shuffling walk, the bears are flat-footed and average three to four miles per hour. They can top-end at about 35 M.P.H. They are powerful swimmers and climb trees with leisure.
Breeding begins at about age three-and-a-half. They enter “heat” usually in June or July and this is the one-time males and females are together. Often a male is with more than one female. The female’s eggs, once fertilized, develop little until autumn when they attach to the uterine wall. Gestation is six to eight months with young being born in January or early February.
There are usually two or three cubs to a litter with four, five and six cub having been reported. Young have fine hair and are born with their eyes shut but open in about 40 days. They weigh, at birth, eight ounces and if the mother is 300 pound, this makes the cub 1/600 of her weight compare to about 1/20 for humans’ babies. Females often take their young into the dens the first year and often stay with them until the next fall, a total of one-and-a-half years. The black bear has a life span of about 15 years. In captivity some have lived to 25 years and one on record lived to be 27.
The most common sign of a black bear are its tracks. Its large hind print resembles a man’s and is usually seen in front of the front print, which is smaller. Claw marks are often present. Scat contains grasses and berries it has eaten.
Enemies of the bear include trichinae, tapeworms, lungworms, flukes, rabies and tuberculosis. Bears have been known to kill other bears while fighting during the breeding season and over food. Adults have, on occasion, killed cubs.
Humans often feed bears and this is a mistake. They are perceived as cute and cuddly. They are not pets. Feeding these animals is potentially dangerous because bears can rely on being fed and as a result can attack with the slightest of provocation. Of the four species of bears in North America, more bear-human attacks are from the black bear than others.
My advice to those who have “problem” bears is to be a good housekeeper by picking up garbage and temporarily stop feeding birds. These animals, like most, are opportunists and will take what they can get. If bears continue to be a problem, you can contact the DNR who may be able to set a live-trap. A bear I live trapped was transported about 35 miles away and released. It returned to the location trapped in less than a week and was trapped again. Moving it over 45 miles away seemed to solve the immediate problem but realize this bear may have become someone else’s problem.
In Minnesota black bear hunting is regulated. Being excellent table fare, they must be cooked thoroughly, as trichina may be present.
