Maine is well known for its wildlife. It has one of the largest black bear populations in the “Lower 48” and state officials saw a need to understand more about this species in order to ensure its presence remained on the landscape. In 1975 a study was launched in which 51 bears were captured and fitted with radio collars. Biologists monitored their travels and when the bears would den up in the winter months, they would go to the dens and check on the condition of the bears. This work has continued every year since and now there are about 100 female bears with collars. Each year several groups get to tag along on one of the den visits. I was fortunate enough to be one of the lucky tag along groups this year! My hope out of the visit was to better understand what impacts forest activities have on the bears’ life cycle and in general learn more about the black bear. In addition the allure of holding a bear cub that was still alive was a major draw! The biologists were extremely knowledgeable about bears and bear behavior and were exemplary tour guides. Thanks to Randy Cross, who I am quite confident has forgotten more about bears than I will ever know, and his understudies Roach, Jumper and Kid(Their self-imposed nicknames), we had an extremely enjoyable trip.
The den we visited housed a bear named “Nel” which was a 22-year-old sow, and two of her one-year old cubs. These yearling cubs were some of the larger ones the team had sampled with a male weighing in at 53 pounds and a female weighing 48 pounds. Nel was a direct offspring of one of the original bears in the study. The female bears have a cub every other year, the cubs are born in the den mid-January spending all year with the mother and den the next winter with the mother before going off on their own the second spring. This gives biologists two winters to check in on them, with female yearlings getting a collar of their own to continue the study. A den can be just about anywhere, with some in hollow trees, caves, or as was the case on this bear under a blown down tree. The den is located with the use of telemetry equipment which locates the radio signals of the collar. First a plane determines the approximate area before utilizing snowmobiles and snowshoes to pin point the exact den location. Once located a biologist enters the den with a sedative and sedates the bears. Then the bears are pulled out and evaluated, including everything from cub survival, weight, size, hair samples to teeth condition. Once samples are complete the bears get placed back in and the den is covered back up for the bears to continue their winter rest. It was a very educational trip and a once in a lifetime experience. I encourage everyone to listen to the scientific knowledge this group provides and let them be at the core of bear management.
Stay tuned as there are more exciting stories on the way!
Stay tuned as there are more exciting stories on the way!
