Black Bears
The black bear is the smallest North American bear. The
adults are
usually less than six feet long and stand about two to three feet
tall at
shoulders. The weight of a black bear varies between 125-500 ponds.
They
have small eyes and rounded ears. Also their snout is very long. Each
paw
has five very strong claws, which is used for tearing, digging, and
climbing.
One single hit from the front paw is enough to kill an adult deer.
A black
bear is a true carnivore, but if not prevented the black bear could
be a huge
problem to humans.
A black bear loves to eat fresh leaves,
berries, fruits, nuts, roots and also
insects and small mammals. When fall
comes near, a black bear must eat
large amounts of food in order to gain
enough weight to keep them through
winter hibernation. During hibernation
when a little bit warmer weather
comes near the black bear must awaken and
take short excursions outdoors,
so they can get a drink or some food. This
is so the black bear will be able to
go back to sleep easier.
During
hibernation a black bear will stay in a cave or some kind of stone
formation. Usually it will be near a creek or stream. The area around the
cave will usually have a lot of vegetation. If the cave does not have any
water or food around it the black bear will try to find another place to
sleep
through the winter. That place will have plenty of food and water.
During
the short excursions outdoors during hibernation the bear looks for
replenishments, this is why the bear must be near food and water
(Rieffberger
8).
A black bear’s habitat usually depends on two factors.
One is vegetation
and the other is human activity. A black bear usually is
not picky about a
place to stay if it has got food and is not too close to
human activity. A black
bear’s habitat is usually characterized by a dense
forest understory, which
includes brushy territory or a lot of downed trees
which fell due to the
weather. Once spring starts coming around, black bears
start emerging from
their hibernation. They move around the area a lot,
because they are looking
for a new place which has good cover to stay under
and a lot of vegetation a
round (Rieffenberger 8).
Black bears are
becoming more and more of a problem. If people have
garbage or food that
they have thrown out, a black bear may come and get it.
To keep a black bear
out of the garbage, you need to get rid of the garbage
properly. If you do
have a bad bear problem, you should call the West
Virginia Division on
Natural Resources and they will either trap the black
bear or chase it away
with the use of trained hounds. If the officer traps the
bear, the officer
has to fill out a form to tell where it was captured, and what
the problem
was. Then the officer tags the bears ear and fills out information
about the
bear itself. When the officer releases the black bear, he has to tell
the
date, county, and exact location. After this is done, the officer will be
able to if it is the same bear when another black bear is caught and has a
tag.
The very last resort in getting rid of a black bear is shooting it. If
this is the
case, a conservation officer will have to be the one to kill the
black bear. If
any damage is done the person should check and see if the
damage is covered
by the bear damage compensation. Not all damage is
covered. Sometimes no
damage at all is covered (Houchins 2).
Most
problems with black bears is caused by human error. If a person
gets rid of
their trash and edible products properly, they will most likely not
have a
problem with black bears (WV DNR).
The mating season for a black bear
differs from most animals. Most
animals breed when they are in peak physical
condition, but black bears when
their body weight is at the lowest for the
year
and the food is scarce. This is usually in the spring. The birth of a
cub
usually takes place in the sows winter den. If it is the bears first
litter, there
will often be only one cub, but if it is not she may have two
or three cubs.
The cub(s) will have a coat of short hair, and their eyes are
shut. The cubs
are very small in size, usually between six to twelve ounces.
The cubs grow
rapidly on the rich milk diet. Their eyes remain shut for the
first six weeks
(Rieffenberger 16).
When cubs are three or four months
old they take their first excursion
from their mothers side. Under the eye
of their mother, the cubs learn what to
eat and what not to eat. The cubs
are weaned in the late summer or early fall
when food becomes very abundant.
Usually in September the mother takes
the cubs out and teaches them how to
find sources of food like berries, fruits,
and nuts. Also sources of water
and shelter. Around this time the cubs are
weighing about 25-65 pounds
(Wildlife Biologue). The cubs usually spend
their first winter with their
mother. Some cubs and their mothers move
around all winter and go back to
their den on stormy days (Rieffenberger 18).
By June of the cubs second
year, they are introduced to the world alone.
When the cubs are turned loose
their weight usually goes down because of
the problem of not being able to
find food, but with the help of a long summer
and abundant amount of food
the cubs will make it all right. The cubs gain
weight even more the third
summer when they know how to find food better
by themselves. When the mother
turns the cubs loose in their second
summer, it is time for her to mate
again (Wildlife Biologue).
To protect black bears from hunters, sanctuaries
are established by the
D.N.R. These sanctuaries protect the breeding bears.
The cubs of these
bears will be the ones turned loose to keep the population
of black bears up
so they won’t go into extinction. Also in the sanctuaries
scientists can study a
bear’s behavior, diet, and way of life including
birth and death. The scientists
can do tests on black bears and find cures
for diseases that black bears may
get in the future (WV DNR).
Black
bears have inhabited West Virginia for along time. There was a lot
of black
bears in the state when it was settled by the white men. In the3
1700’s the
black bears were killed in large numbers by hunters. The hunters
wanted the
meat and the furs so they could stay warm in the winter.
In 1933 a letter
was sent to T.M. Cheek, state conservation commission
director. They told in
the letter that the black bear was a beautiful problem
and it receives no
protection, but should. In 1944 there was now a black bear
hunting season.
No black bears could be killed by the hunter unless it was
hunting season.
Then are only so many bears could be killed during one
season by one hunter.
This helped the black bear population a lot. The black
bears were finally
protected by a new law. After this the black bear
population grows not to
rapidly. The future will soon note an increase of
black bears. With the
hunting seasons and the help of the Department of
Natural Resources the
black bears will be seen all over the state. If you have
seen one black bear
in your county now, it will not be unlikely to see five or
six in the
future.
To summarize, black bears are one small, North American carnivore
that
stands about three feet tall to shoulders, and weighs about 125-500
pounds
A black bear’s paws are suitable for tearing, digging, and climbing.
One
swipe from a black bears claws is enough to kill an adult deer.
Although classified as a carnivore, they are actually a omnivore who likes
to eat leaves, berries, roots, nuts, and some small animals. In the fall,
black
bears start eating large amounts of food in order to gain weight and
survive
winter hibernation.
Where a black bear chooses to inhabit
depends on the vegetation of an
area and the amount of human activity. Black
bears are a very complicated
animal. They are calm at most times and are
only angered mostly by humans.
Black bears usually breed in the spring and
the young leave their mothers in
the second summer of their life.
Because of their endangered species status, the DNR have established
sanctuaries to protect black bears. In 1944, a black bear season was
established. Only during this time could black bears be killed by hunters.
Due to this new protection law, the black bear population began to rise. In
the future, it will be a common sight to see a few black bears in your
county.
Works
Cited
Houchins, Stephen C, James E. Craft, and Jerry R. Duffield. Procedures
for
Handling Nuisance Bears. Wildlife Resources Section 1999
How to
Avoid Bear Damage and Nuisance Problems. West Virginia Division
of Natural
Resources. 1996
Rieffenberger, Joseph C. et. al. West Virginia Black Bear.
Wildlife Resources
Division. 1981
U.S. Department of the Interior and
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
American Black Bear. 1994. 28 October, 1999.
http://frogweb.nbii.gov/features/kidscorner/bbear.html/>
West
Virginia Division of Natural Resources. 1899 Black Bear Hunting
Season.
Wildlife Resources Section 1999.