I’ve had the pleasure of watching a lot of black bear activity this summer because of the trail cameras I have out in the forest where I live. One of my favorite things to do is go get the SD cards from the cameras. I look forward to it as a child might look forward to opening presents on Christmas morning. I don’t know exactly what I’ll see, but I know it will be interesting!
Did you know that unlike some other animals, black bears are generally not territorial? This has become very obvious to me since there are numerous bears that are regular guests on my trail cameras. Yearlings typically have a range of 1-2 miles, adult females 2-6 miles and adult males 8-15 miles.
Other interesting thing I’ve learned is that black bears are active during the day, especially in the early morning and afternoon. It’s only when they are around humans that they tend to become more active in the night.
And contrary to what many people believe, black bears are omnivores. They feed on grasses, roots, fungus, berries, flowers parts, insects like ant larvae, beetles, and other small critters they find in holes or under rocks and fallen trees. According to the North American Bear Center “Insects and animal matter are less than 10% of the annual black bear diet across most of North America… Researchers found that bears get most of their animal protein from ant brood, hornet larvae, tent caterpillars, march fly larvae, grubs (especially June beetle grubs), and snow fleas (Collembola). Bears occasionally found bird nests (mostly ground nests) and readily ate the eggs and featherless hatchlings, but they generally rejected older, feathered hatchlings. They also rejected snakes, turtles, frogs, toads, and salamanders.”
And did you know bears are seed dispersers? The North American Bear Center says “Seeds pass through the digestive tract unbroken and able to germinate, making black bears important seed dispersers. Each summer, they spread the seeds of their favorite berries all over their home ranges.”
Always so much to learn!
Here’s some videos from my trail cameras. I think my favorite thing might be the bear scratching his back on the tree, or the bear cubs wrestling in the pool. What’s your favorite moment?
I’d love to hear from you! Tell me what you’ve been seeing where you live.
Since I have no black bears near Austin, TX, I’m learning so much from your posts and trail camera; it’ll help me to understand them better, when I do my Appalachian Trail thru hike next year. For me, the cubs playing together in the water is joyful, just like our children!
Paula, I think the same thing when I see those bear cubs playing–that they’re like kids, just having a gay old time! I love when they wrestle!! Thanks for taking time to write.
Loved the bear scratching its back on the tree! When I was a kid every kid in town urged their mom to take them with her to PTA meetings because the school entertained all the kiddos with a 1 hour movie of bears scratching – set to music. Bet I saw that same film 100x and loved it every time!! Thanks for sharing!
Sara, you are most welcome. Thank YOU for following along and then taking time to comment! I love your bear scratching his back story! Sounds like a memorable video!