Updated from July 2018’s Life’s a bear in Granby
American black bear sightings increase dramatically in the spring, raising questions about keeping these large omnivores out of yards, away from our youngsters and pets and out of garbage bins. The good news is that some of this activity should subside over the next couple of weeks. Bears will still wander through neighborhoods, but the hormone-driven activity that puts the bear world on the move will have subsided—for this spring.
May marks the beginning of the black bear mating season that lasts into mid-July and sets off a chain-reaction of behaviors in the bear world. Female bears enter estrus, a hormonal change that makes them receptive to mating. But a mom can’t go looking for male companionship with two or three adolescent cubs in tow. She unceremoniously forces the 16-month-olds into independence, often by chasing them up a tree and walking away.
Meanwhile, young males over the age of four are hopefully seeking romantically-inclined females by tracking their scent. Older dominant males cruise far and wide, hoping to win the favor of a favorite female—or any others they meet along the way. Mothers with cubs born in January are on constant alert keeping their four-month-old cubs out of the fray. Meanwhile, what about those yearlings that mom chased up a tree? They’re running around confused, hungry and too curious for their own good. Welcome to the chaos of spring in bear country.
Mating pairs travel together for several days until she accepts his advances. To ensure genetic diversity, she may repeat the mating dance with another male when her first suitor moves on. Litters of mixed male parentage are common. During mating season, the male eats very little and may lose 20 percent of his weight.
Once she has mated, the female spends a solitary summer seeking high-quality food such as berries, nuts, apples, ground-bees’ nests, insect larvae dug from rotting logs and, if available, bird seed and picnics from available garbage bins. She needs to gain sufficient weight to deliver healthy cubs in January and sustain them over the winter.
Her fertilized eggs, called blastocysts, do not implant in her womb until just before she goes to den, a process called delayed implantation. This occurs only if her body fat ratio is sufficient to nurture embryos in her womb and produce ample milk for the cubs after they are born. Her weight also determines how many, if any, cubs she will produce. If she’s not physically fit for a pregnancy, her body absorbs the blastocysts.
After approximately eight weeks of gestation, she delivers one to four cubs in her winter den. Tiny hairless and blind cubs the size of a stick of butter are born in mid- to late-January. Relying on her stored fat, she produces fat-rich milk; the nutrition needed for tiny newborns to develop into the four- to 10-pound toddlers that emerge from the den in April.
She travels her range teaching the cubs where to find food, water and trees that provide safe-haven and a bed at night. She may leave them napping high in a white pine to forage on her own for a few hours. The white pine is the preferred tree because it’s rough bark and sturdy limbs are ideal for climbing. The cubs nurse through the summer and after their baby teeth erupt, eat solid food, growing to 30-40 pounds before denning with mom in November.
They remain with her the following spring until she forcibly sends them on their way. Young females often take up residence at the edges of mom’s range, but yearling males may travel 100 miles or more searching for their own spot in the world. The two-year cycle begins anew.
How to manage the chaos
Keeping bears out of your yard requires your management of garbage and recycling by keeping it locked in a shed or the garage and taking the bins to the curb the morning of pickup after dousing them with ammonia or bleach. Town and state ordinance require that bird feeders including ‘hummer feeders’ be removed from March through November. In Granby, like surrounding towns, backyard chicken flocks are commonplace, and the chicken feed attracts the bears. They damage hen houses and runs and often eat the hens. Keeping chickens in an enclosure protected with electric fence is recommended by DEEP (Dept. of Energy and Environmental Protection). Town ordinances and state laws prohibit the feeding of bears—inadvertently or on purpose. Hefty fines may be assessed for noncompliance.
In Granby and surrounding towns bear visits are inevitable and often unexpected. Let the bear know you’re there; talk or sing to yourself when in the yard alone. Keep a noisemaker by the door and carry bear spray if you have it. Be aware of your surroundings. Bears walk silently and can appear without warning.
Teach youngsters to be bear-aware and to never, ever run from a bear. Slowly walk backwards to the nearest door and talk loudly telling the bear “Go away bear.” Yell, wave, extend your arms to look larger and move away. Always leave the bear and any cubs an escape route that is obvious to them.
Keep your dog on leash when walking on trails or in the neighborhood. Check the yard before letting the dog out at night. Up to 50 percent of all bear encounters that result in human contact and possible injury involve an unleashed dog startling or chasing a bear and leading it back to the human. Walk with a companion and carry bear spray.
Learn more about these intelligent, curious animals on the Internet or from books available at the library or on Amazon that offer expert and experienced advice on living with black bears. Also learn about rehabbing cubs and yearlings orphaned or injured because of accidents or hunting online. Many rehabs have Facebook pages and post daily updates on the cubs in their care.
Report bear sightings directly to the DEEP at 860-424-3333. This helps the DEEP track bears that might become a nuisance, especially if you provide a tag number and color. However, situations where a bear places people or pets at imminent risk should be reported to the police immediately.
Sources and suggestions for further reading
Living With Bears: A Practical Guide to Bear Country, by Linda Masterson (a must read!) Among the Bears, by Benjamin Kilham and Ed Gray (two Connecticut cubs were rehabbed at the Kilham Bear Center in New Hampshire a few years ago). Publications by Dr. Lynn Rogers, Wildlife Research Institute, Ely, Minn. Published papers by Mike McIntosh, Bear With Us Sanctuary and Rehab Center for Bears. And, the Bear Smart Website: bearsmart.com