Pennsylvania Game News - June 2023 - 10

But, Carrollo said, a sow that finds
Bear Facts
Maybe you've heard the old riddle
asking who's buried in Grant's tomb?
It's a trick question. The answer is
no one. Technically speaking, former
U.S. President Ulysses S. Grant - as well
as his wife, Julia - are entombed there,
but not buried, since their bodies are
above ground.
Remember that if someone asks what
color black bears are, the answer isn't as
obvious as it seems.
Most black bears are, indeed, black,
or at least primarily so. One out of every
three or four will have a white mark on
its chest, sometimes in a prominent " V. "
But some Pennsylvania " black " bears
are actually cinnamon in color. What's
more, in other parts of their range, black
bears may be brown, whitish or even
bluish-gray.
Here are some other bear facts worth
knowing:
* Adult bears are 50 to 85 inches long,
from their nose to the end of their 3- to
5-inch tail. They stand about 30 inches
tall at the shoulder.
* Males grow larger than females,
with some here in Pennsylvania exceeding
800 pounds.
* Bears walk in a shuffling, flat-footed
manner. Each foot has five toes, each
with a curved claw.
* Extremely agile for their size, bears
sometimes stand erect on their hind feet
to see and smell better. They can run at
speeds of 30 mph over short distances
and climb easily and swim well.
* Black bears have an acute sense of
smell and good hearing.
* As for vocalizations, bears occasionally
growl, " woof " or click their teeth
together when threatened. Females
communicate with their cubs using low
grunts that signal cubs to climb a tree
when danger is near or to descend after
it has passed.
* Bears are most active at dusk and
dawn, with slightly lower activity levels
during the day. They can also become
nocturnal to avoid human activity.
* Alert and wary, bears tend to avoid
open areas. They're also solitary unless
with cubs or during the breeding season.
10
human foods will teach her cubs to eat it,
as well. That's the bad.
" Bear cubs do learn a lot about the
world from their mothers, and if mothers
are regularly getting into unsecured
human resources like trash and bird seed,
cubs will learn to look for food from
similar resources when they grow up, "
Carrollo said. " Thus, it's important to
keep bears wild and secure any attractants
that may encourage human-bear conflict.
" Preventing mom from finding trouble
on one's property means young bears will
learn how to be wild from their mothers. "
So long as they stay out of trouble that
way, bear cubs don't face too many other
problems while growing up. Through
play, they learn how to navigate the
landscape with their mother and siblings.
Those interactions, Carrollo said, teach
Much of what a bear cub learns is picked up
by following around its mother. Cubs start
mimicking mom soon after they leave the den,
among other things, foraging alongside her,
eating what she eats. Meanwhile, play with
siblings helps teach cubs skills like fighting and
interacting with other wildlife, including bears.
Jacob Dingel
Pennsylvania Game News - June 2023

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