Black Bears

Having these magnificent beasts strolling past our house on a regular basis really makes this place feel wild! We identified 10 different bears in 2020 that frequented the fields around the house: the biggest by large is a huge, full grown male boar (Big Daddy), we also have a smaller 2-3 year old, and a couple of sows with 3 cubs each; one set of cubs were from last year (the mum is quite a small, young bear so we call her Little Momma Bear) and the other set of cubs are from this year, they started out as tiny, wee balls of fluff but are getting bigger every time we see them (their mum is a little older and larger and we call her Momma Bear). This summer we have also seen an adorable young bear roaming around on his own many times, he is only about a year old and is probably one of the cubs from last years litter of three that has bravely set out on his own, we have called him Booboo.

They’re a healthy bunch this year with no sign of the dreaded mange that has devastated the population in previous years. This highly contagious and potentially fatal skin disease usually runs through the population when their numbers get too high and they come in closer contact with each other. It can be a slow and painful death for them so it is a big relief to see them all looking so good!

Brave little Booboo going solo (2020)

Early this summer young Booboo set out on his own to live the solitary life of an adult bear. He still seems so small and vulnerable but between 12-18 months is when all young bears will leave their mum and strike out alone. They have followed their mums closely for their first year to learn everything there is to know about how to survive in the wild: what foods to eat, where to find water, how to scoot up trees at signs of danger and how to build a den for the winter. Now it is up to them to put it all into practice. Booboo seems to be doing just fine, he is healthy and growing bigger every time we see him. It’s going to be fun to see him grow into a big adult bear and rule the forest!

We have had the absolute pleasure of having front row seats all summer long to this little family as they explore the woods and fields around the house and Momma teaches the cubs all the survival skills they will need to master before they strike off on their own. Essential life skills like raiding our apple trees and blueberry bushes!

Whenever they come through the fields by the house she leads them along the same educational path, which starts by winding their way through the fields eating the wild blueberries that grow there in abundance. They then pass by the pond and stop in for a quick dip and a swim around, a magical cool-down on a hot summers day! From the pond she takes them past our own little patch of blueberry bushes and teaches them how to bend the branches down and strip off the delicious berries. We always get a good laugh watching them tumble around, trying to climb the light, bendy branches and pin them to the ground while they feast on the berries. Needless to say, we have had very few berries from our blueberry patch ourselves this year! The next stop are the apple trees below our back deck, where the cubs nimbly scoot up the trees while Momma waits down below to keep watch, lazily munching on any apples that drop to the ground. They are now mere metres away from us and we get to watch them go about their foraging happily oblivious that we are enjoying the show!

We saw them meander past the house five times between July and September and each time the cubs were a little bigger. It has been such a treat to be able to see them grow and observe their playful and curious behaviour up close. In mid-September we were also lucky enough to capture them on one of our trail cameras, which was strapped to a tree at the three ponds, a few kilometres away from the house at the other end of the property. The photos and movie of their adventures are posted below for your enjoyment so you can vicariously experience this wildlife fun with us!

Stay tuned as we will post updates whenever we are lucky enough to see them again….. They look like they are growing into strapping young rascals!

Some bear facts….

Of the three species of bear that live in North America (this also includes brown bears and polar bears) black bears are the only ones found in Pennsylvania. There are estimated to be about 20,000 black bears living throughout the state. Although they are the smallest of the three species they can still grow to a pretty impressive size. The males can weigh in at 300-400kg while the substantially smaller females average around 200kg. When they stand upright on their back feet they can reach as tall as 2 metres. They are mostly solitary animals that tend to roam through the woods on their own. They are omnivorous and will eat just about anything. They feed on grasses, berries, nuts, insects, roots, fish, carrion and have even been known to kill and devour very young and helpless day-old fawns that are hiding alone in the long grasses. And they definitely like our apple trees and blueberry bushes, to devastating effect!

Bears will hibernate during the winter months, remaining in their dens to sleep through the coldest months. They remain in a resting, rather than a deep sleep-like state and are still alert enough to be aware of any intruders. They may even venture out to roam around close to the den on warm days. Their heart rate and breathing will slow down during this period and they won’t pass any body waste. They generally don’t eat while hibernating and survive on fat stores that they have built up during summer and fall. Dens vary and may be in caves, holes dug in to the ground under bushes or fallen trees, or nests built above ground.

Mating occurs in the summertime (June to mid-July) and the females give birth to their young in January, while still in hibernation. They can have between one to five cubs to a litter, although most common in this area seems to be 3 cubs. The cubs are born blind and are just tiny at birth, averaging about 22cm in length and weighing in at about 250 grams. At around 6 weeks they will open their eyes and a couple of weeks later they will start to walk. In April they will leave the den with their mother and are weaned at about 7 months. They will stay with her until they are between 1 to 1 1/2 years old and from her they will learn all the valuable life lessons they will need to survive before they venture off on their own.