Text BLACK BEARS Dispelling the Myths for Peaceful Coexistence · ! 2!...

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BLACK BEARS: Dispelling the Myths for Peaceful Coexistence

Presented by Speakers Bureau North American Bear Center Ely, Minnesota www.bear.org SLIDE 1 Depending on the venue for your talk, you may be introduced. If not, introduce yourself as a volunteer presenter for the Speakers Bureau of the North American Bear Center. Tailor your introductory remarks to the specific group you are presenting to. Develop an intro that you are comfortable with. Some suggested comments are below. Relax, be yourself, and have fun. May the bears be with you! -‐ Good evening! [afternoon, morning, etc.] -‐ Thank you to… [whoever introduced you, sponsored the event, etc.] -‐ It’s wonderful to see so much interest in bears. -‐ Thank you for this opportunity to talk about my favorite subject. SLIDE 2

Imagine for a moment… that you’re hiking in the woods… just enjoying the summer day

SLIDE 3 Suddenly, you look up and see a black bear! What’s your reaction? Are you frightened? Are you excited? Do you run and hide? Do you call the police? What is your honest reaction? (DISCUSSION)

• All of these reactions are quite normal. • Misconceptions are the biggest problem bears face. • At the same time people are moving into bear habitat, black bear populations are

expanding. Bear survival depends upon how well we understand and tolerate them.

• As an ambassador for bears through the Educational Outreach Program of the North American Bear Center in Ely, Minnesota, I believe the more people are

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educated about black bears, the more willing they are to coexist with them, not only in our area, but everywhere bears live.

• If I can leave you with one thing today, it’s that you’ve learned a bit more about the true nature of these shy, intelligent animals.

[Explain briefly how you became interested in bears.] SLIDE 4 Bears have long been the object of our fascination and our fear.

• No other animal has so excited the human imagination. • We feature bears as cuddly toys and write endearing stories about them… • but at the same time we create nightmarish images of them. • Many myths and misconceptions surround these shy, intelligent animals.

SLIDE 5 We are surrounded by misleading images of bears. Portraying bears as cute & cuddly is misleading and causes confusion—because bears are wild animals. These are just a few of the cute cuddly bears featured in children’s literature. SLIDE 6 Bears are also portrayed in human-‐like poses or even with human bodies. No other animal has dominated children's literature quite as much as the bear. SLIDE 7 At the other end of the spectrum are misleading images of ferocious bears.

• For years, artists, writers, and taxidermists have exaggerated the danger from bears.

SLIDE 8

• Ferocious images and exaggerated stories have created a very deep-‐rooted fear of these basically shy animals.

SLIDE 9

• This demonization of bears has caused unnecessary killing of bears worldwide.

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SLIDE 10

• This demonization of bears has caused unnecessary killing of bears worldwide. SLIDE 11 The answer is captive trained bears

• Some bears have been trained since birth to… • open their mouths wide for a treat. • Sounds of wolves or lions are dubbed in for movies. • Bears don’t bare their teeth like cats and dogs do.

SLIDE 12 Now, it is true that black bears have killed people.

• 66 people have been killed by black bears in North America since 1900. • Most of these killing took place in remote areas of Canada and Alaska where

bears have very little contact with people. • Most of these killings were by bears not accustomed to people or to being fed. • It’s important to put these killings into perspective.







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SLIDE 15 There are many common misconceptions about black bears. Let’s look at a few of them.

• “Mother bears wake up in the spring and are surprised they have cubs!” • Mother bears may actually leave their den to bring in more bedding prior to the

birth of cubs. • They are restless and wakeful during labor. • When their cubs are born, they are attentive to every cry.

SLIDE 16

• “Bears stink!” • There is very little odor from a black bear—unless the bear has rolled in

something. • Generally they simply smell like the forest. • Adult bears may have a slight musky odor during mating season.

SLIDE 17 “Bears are nocturnal”

• Black bears are generally active half an hour before sunrise. • They may nap once or twice during the day. • They generally bed down for the night an hour or two after sunset. • Bears may become nocturnal to avoid people. They also become nocturnal as

they slow down in the fall before denning. SLIDE 18 “Never get between a mother bear and her cubs!”

• This warning is true for brown/grizzly bears. • However, black bears mothers are highly unlikely to attack.

SLIDE 19 “When bears lose their fear of people they are more likely to attack”

• Bears that are unafraid of people are less apt to flee. • However, they are no more likely to attack than any other bears—and some

studies have shown that they are less likely to attack. • Many human-‐tolerant bears are killed because of this myth!

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SLIDE 20 “Bears lurk in the woods waiting to attack people”

• Black bears are more apt to quietly slip away before you ever see them. • They are likely to run if they are surprised by you. • If they don’t run, they are easy to chase away.

SLIDE 21

• So, why are they so timid and easy to chase away? • Black bears have evolved right here in North American around HUGE Ice Age

predators that preyed on black bears. SLIDE 22

• The giant short-‐faced bear was undoubtedly the fastest running bear that ever lived. It probably could run over 40 miles an hour despite weighing over 1500 pounds.

SLIDE 23

• The American lion was one of the largest cats that ever existed. It was a relative of the African Lion but had a larger body and brain.

SLIDE 24

• The saber-‐toothed cat had canine teeth almost a foot long! SLIDE 25

• The dire wolf was the largest wild canine (dog) species the world has ever seen. SLIDE 26

• Black bears survived around these fierce predators by climbing trees. SLIDE 27

• They developed the mind of a prey animal and were quick to flee.

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SLIDE 28

• The timid black bears were the ones who survived to pass on their genes. SLIDE 29 How timid ARE back bears?

• Just like people, bears fear what they don't understand. SLIDE 30

• Black bears have been known to run from ducks waddling into view, SLIDE 31

• a monarch butterfly landing on their back, SLIDE 32

• aggressive house cats, SLIDE 33

• and yapping dogs. SLIDE 34

• Because black bears are basically timid, some researchers have developed trusting relationships with a few individual bears.

SLIDE 35

• They can collar these bears without tranquilizers and walk with them as the bears go about their life.

SLIDE 36

• This allows researchers to closely observe black bear behavior and food choices. SLIDE 37

• This type of research has advanced our understanding of black bears.

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SLIDE 38

• If black bears were not basically timid and gentle animals, this research could not be done.

SLIDE 39

• This trust-‐based black bear research is currently being conducted at the Wildlife Research Institute in Ely, Minnesota.

SLIDE 40 Let’s take a quick look at all 8 species of bears in the world.

• American Black Bear (conservation status = least concern). The American Black Bear evolved in North America and is found only in North America. Black bears are more numerous than all other species of bears combined. SLIDE 41 The next 3 bears are found in North America.

• Brown Bear (conservation status = least concern). The Brown Bear, also known as the Grizzly Bear in North America, is the most widely distributed bear in the world. SLIDE 42

• Polar Bear (conservation status = vulnerable). The Polar Bear is the most carnivorous of the world’s bears—subsisting primarily on seals it hunts on the Arctic ice pack. SLIDE 43

• Andean Bear (conservation status = vulnerable). The Andean Bear is the only bear living in South America and the last remaining ‘short-‐faced’ bear.

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SLIDE 44 The next 4 species are found in Asia.

• Giant Panda (conservation status = endangered). The Giant Panda lives in China where it feeds almost exclusively on bamboo. SLIDE 45

• Asiatic Black Bear (conservation status = vulnerable). The Asiatic Black Bear is the species most often found in the Asian bear bile farms—though all bear species except the Giant Panda are threatened by the bear bile trade. SLIDE 46

• Sloth Bear (conservation status = vulnerable). The Sloth bear has fewer top incisors than other bear species. This adaptation helps them more efficiently feed on termites and ants—their primary foods. SLIDE 47

• Sun Bear (conservation status = vulnerable). The Sun Bear is the smallest of the world’s bear species. SLIDE 48 As you can see on the left, black bears historically ranged over most of the forested regions of North America, from treeline up in Canada down to northern Mexico. Their recent distribution, shown on the right, is restricted to relatively undisturbed forested regions. Although wiped out of much of their historic range, black bears are repopulating some areas as forests re-‐grow and attitudes toward bears improve. Black bears currently found in 40 states. [quote your state’s black bear population] SLIDE 49

• As black bears expand their range, and more people move into black bear habitat, it’s more important than ever to understand the true nature of these shy, intelligent animals.

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SLIDE 50

• Black bears are the smallest of the North American bears. They are 2-‐3 feet high at the shoulder…

SLIDE 51

• and 4-‐7 feet long nose to tail. Female black bears reach their full size by age 6, but males continue to grow until they are 10-‐12 years old. SLIDE 52 Typical weights of adult black bears: Males of breeding age: 125-‐500 pounds or more Females of breeding age: 90-‐300 pounds or more Record weights: A male black bear in North Carolina weighed in at 880 pounds, and in Nova Scotia a male was found to weigh over 900 pounds. SLIDE 53 Interestingly, black bears are not always black.

• They come in more colors than any other North American mammal. • They are almost always black in the eastern populations, • but are brown, cinnamon, black, or occasionally blond in western part of the

country. • Blue-‐gray black bears (called glacier bears) can be found in southern Alaska.

SLIDE 54

• The Kermode bear is a subspecies of the American black bear that… • lives on the coast of British Columbia. • They are not albino black bears, and they are not polar bears. • We think of Kermode bears as being white, but 90% of Kermode bears are black

and only carry a gene for white fur. • The 10% that have white fur are referred to as Spirit Bears, and less that 400 exist

today.

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SLIDE 55

• Black bears have 2 types of fur, course straight guard hairs and soft wavy underfur. • They have sparse fur on their belly. Mother bears tuck cubs to their bellies to

keep them warm. Bears cool off in summer by pressing their belly to the cool ground or exposing it to the cool air.

• They shed their coat in late spring or early summer. • Mothers with cubs shed later than other bears. • The stiff course guard hairs are the first to grow back. They form a sleek summer

coat. • Late in the summer or early fall, soft underfur grows in and provides insulation for

winter—making all bears look fat. SLIDE 56 With all this fur, bears can overheat.

• The tips of their fur can reach 185 degrees in direct sun. • Like dogs, they have no sweat glands, so they need to find ways to cool off. • They seek shade and usually avoid foraging in direct sun. • They lie with their sparsely-‐furred belly exposed to the air or pressed to cool soil. • They also will seek out water to lie in… • And pat water on their head with their paws.

SLIDE 57

• Black bears are adapted for life in the forest. They have short, strong ,curved claws for climbing trees and ripping open logs. SLIDE 58

• Brown/grizzly bear claws are adapted for open country and their main food sources.

A grizzly bear’s claws can grow up to 4 inches long on the front feet and are blunt. They use their long, strong claws to dig for roots and burrowing rodents. SLIDE 59

• Polar bear claws are thick, curved, sharp, and strong. They can measure more than two inches long and are used to catch and hold prey—and to provide traction on the ice.

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SIDE 60

• The territory of adult females is approximately 3-‐6 square miles. • At 50-‐150 square miles, an adult male’s mating range is too large to defend and

usually includes 7 or more female territories. • The home range for yearlings is typically 3-‐7 square miles.

SLIDE 61

• A good crop of nuts helps ensure female bears become fat enough to have cubs. SLIDE 62

• Insect larvae [immature stage of insect] are highly sought after by black bears. They raid as many as 200 ant colonies a day to lick up ant pupae. They endure hornet stings to feast on larval [immature] hornets. In years of forest tent caterpillar outbreaks, black bears can eat as many as 24,000 caterpillars a day. When black bears raid honey beehives, they are primarily after the brood [immature bees] rather than the honey. SLIDE 63

• Berries are important foods wherever black bears are found. Black bears can eat up to 30,000 berries on a good day. SLIDE 64

• Black bears eat other, less-‐preferred foods when their favorite foods are unavailable. These include…

SLIDE 65

• Vegetation is the primary food for bears in the spring. Vegetation provides valuable nutrients and when other foods are unavailable vegetation enables adults to survive, but many females remain too lean to reproduce.

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SLIDE 66

• When more preferred food is scarce, they may eat carrion (dead animals). In late spring, black bears kill and eat very young deer fawns. Once the fawns can get up and run, they are safe from bears. Black bears that live in areas where fish spawn in streams may utilize fish as a food source, but most black bears do not eat fish. SLIDE 67 Scat studies, or scatology, reveal among other things what bears eat. When examining scat, one looks for seeds, leaf fragments, insect parts, hairs, bone fragments, scales, etc. Matching these clues with items in the area, one can learn bear diets. People are always surprised to learn that black bear scat does not have an unpleasant smell if the bears ate only fruit, nuts, acorns, or vegetation.

• We can see shiny bud scales in this scat and see catkin fibers under a microscope. • This bear has been eating male big-‐toothed aspen catkins.

SLIDE 68

• Here is a dropping full of spring vegetation. • While most of the greens are digested beyond identification, occasionally an

undigested leaf is found that can be identified. SLIDE 69

• What makes up this scat? • By learning to identify the seeds found in scats, researchers learn what foods are

important to bears. • A scat full of raspberries!

SLIDE 70

• When a bear gorges on berries, some berries may come through whole. • These seeds are tiny and look like grains of sand. • Blueberries!

Black bears play an important role in the ecosystem by dispersing seeds. They consume thousands of berries at a time by swallowing them whole. Most seeds come through whole and viable and are spread throughout the bears home range as the bears defecates.

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SLIDE 71

• Black bears have a large brain compared to body size. • They have superior navigation ability, • excellent memory, • and have surpassed chimpanzees in some tests of learning.

In Minnesota, a 450-‐pound male that found himself 119 miles from its den in mid-‐October walked straight back to his den over 9 consecutive nights. SLIDE 72

• Bears see in color and have good close-‐up vision. Their distance vision has not been tested over 200 yards.

SLIDE 73

• Black bears’ sense of smell is extremely good. Their nasal mucosa area is about 100 times larger than in humans.

SLIDE 74 Hearing is a black bear’s first line of defense. Their sensitive noses pick up scents in only one direction—the direction the breeze is coming from, but black bears can hear in all directions. Their large ears turn toward sounds.

• Black bears’ hearing exceeds human frequency ranges and probably twice as sensitive.

SLIDE 75

• The main thing that helped me get over my fear of bears was learning their language,

• learning to interpret bear bluster in terms of their fear rather than my fear, • learning that behaviors I thought were threatening were really expressions of their

own apprehension. SLIDE 76

• Friendly sounds include • Grunts—used by mothers concerned for their cubs [sound] • Tongue click—used by bears approaching other bears to mate or play [sound]

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SLIDE 77 When black bears are nervous or feel crowded they may

• Make their nose long and narrow • Blow forcefully • Blow and clack their teeth [sound] • Lunge forward and slap front paws on ground or an object • Bluff charges are very rare

These behaviors look aggressive but are not. Unfortunately many bears are killed for showing their nervousness SLIDE 78

• This is a distress sound made by a fearful cub. • This sound is commonly made when a cub is separated from its mother and is

frightened. • This is the sound that brings the mother running! [sound]

SLIDE 79

• When older bears are very scared… • they moan. You may hear this sound when a bear is threatened by a more

dominant bear, or when a bear has retreated up a tree and is too scared to come down.

• [sound] SLIDE 80

• Black bears threaten each other with a deep pulsating vocalization. [sound] • These intense sounds are heard during mating battles, • territorial disputes, • or disputes over food.

SLIDE 81

• When bears play, such as these juvenile males, • they make no sounds at all. It may look like fighting, but bites are restrained.

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SLIDE 82

• Black bears also communicate with each other by scent-‐marking – which includes…

• Back-‐rubbing trees, fence posts, buildings; biting objects they rub; straddling saplings and vegetation; and stomping.

SLIDE 83 If you’re in black bear country, there are many kinds of black bear signs you can look for.

• Black bears of all ages, both male and female, scent mark. Utility poles attract bears and are an excellent place to look for bear sign. Bears stand and rub their shoulders, neck, and crown (top of head) against poles, leaving their scent. Other bears that come along do the same thing, communicating who has been there.

Here we see black bear hair caught in the splintered wood of a utility pole. SLIDE 84

• In addition to rubbing, black bears bite utility poles. Here we see a cross-‐hatch of bear bites. Bears generally stand on their hind legs to bite, so bites are often an indication of how big the bear is.

SLIDE 85

• Although marked utility poles may be easiest type of bear sign to find, bears bite many different kinds of trees as well. Here we see multiple bear bites on a white birch.

SLIDE 86

• Bears often walk in the same tracks as the bears that walked before them, leaving deep depressions that last for years. Trails are often found leading to and from marking trees.

SLIDE 87

• The big toes are on the outside of the foot, and the wide part of the pad is on the outside.

Bears’ feet turn in as they walk.

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SLIDE 88

• When the ground is cold, bears make beds by raking together leaf litter, stripping bark from trees (cedar is a favorite), or breaking conifer branches to insulate them from the cold ground.

SLIDE 89

• Bears den in a variety of places. SLIDE 90

• Hollow trees are a favorite type of den, but many areas no longer have big old trees with hollow centers.

• Dens may be dug into hillsides or under the roots of a tree. • A good rock den will be used again and again, but seldom by the same bear and

generally not in consecutive years. • The hollow created by the roots of a tree when it’s blown over is a common den

site. • Some bears crawl under brush piles. • Others simply rake up a bed on the surface of the ground near a windbreak. • * Black bears also den in culverts. Is this a good idea? (Culverts often flood from

snowmelt in the spring.) SLIDE 91 What causes a bear to hibernate? The onset and duration of hibernation all depends on the availability of food, which differs around the country. Black bears in northern Minnesota are genetically programmed to enter dens in September and October when the berries and hazelnuts run out, even if supplemental food is available to them. In the south, bears enter dens in December or January, and some do not enter dens at all if food is available.

• The timing of denning is genetically programmed by region and timed to availability of wild foods. Denning is not triggered by cold temperatures. In fact, bears have been found in dens on 70 degree fall days.

• In the fall as bears’ metabolism slows down during transition to hibernation, they sleep as much as 20 hours per day.

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SLIDE 92 Hibernating black bears do extraordinary things—things that might someday benefit humans.

• For starters, hibernating bears remain relatively inactive for 3-‐7 months depending on their location.

• During this time they may not eat, drink, urinate or defecate and are able to gain all the sustenance they need entirely from within their own bodies.

• They have the ability to recycle urine to maintain body tissues. • Studies have shown that black bears in hibernation lose very little muscle

strength. • Their 4-‐inch-‐thick winter coat and their body fat insulate so well that snow can

accumulate on their back. Our bodies can't restore muscle and organ tissue without eating. If we were to remain in bed for 6 weeks, it would take a whole year to regain our muscle strength. But black bears come out of their dens in the spring and can resume normal activity. SLIDE 93 Biologists have long acknowledged that hibernating black bears may have something to teach us, and they are now studying the black bear with an eye to aiding everything from organ preservation to kidney disorders, from human hibernation to long-‐distance space travel.

• Fat tissues break down to supply water and up to 4,000 calories a day. • Winter weight loss can be extreme. 15-‐20% for most bears and up to 40% for

females who give birth and nurse cubs. • Bears with ample fat are alert to danger. • Skinny bears fall into a deeper hibernation to conserve their meager fat reserves,

and they are not easily awakened. • Regardless of condition, 99% of black bears survive the winter.

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SLIDE 94 Researchers seeking to learn more about bear behavior in the den have placed cameras in dens and broadcast the video over the Internet.

• Through cameras placed in dens, we’ve learned that mother bears are very active caregivers.

• Hundreds of classrooms around the country learn from the den cams. • Thousands of people around the world have watched what happens in bear dens

24 hours a day on live steaming video, including the birth and care of cubs. • They have learned from the bears themselves.

SLIDE 95

• Only female bears that have plenty of fat reserves can successfully have cubs. • Cubs are born between mid-‐January and early-‐February. • They weigh less than a pound, have short fur, and can barely crawl. They are born

with eyes closed and it takes about 6 weeks for their eyes to open. SLIDE 96

• Sparse underfur on a mother bear’s belly helps keep her cubs warm against her body.

• Her legs make furry walls. • A mother bear keeps her cubs warm by hovering over them… • and breathing on them with her head tucked under her chest.

SLIDE 97

• Mother bears are awake in the den and respond to every cry of their cubs. • She helps her cubs find her 6 nipples. • Cubs nurse frequently and for long periods, making a motor-‐like pulsing hum that

indicates contentment and tells mother not to move. • Cubs make a motor-‐like pulsing sound (which indicates pleasure) when they

nurse. [sound] SLIDE 98

• Mothers and cub emerge from their den in the spring … SLIDE 99

• but don’t travel far until the cubs can climb trees for safety.

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SLIDE 100

• Bears know where all the large trees are in their territory and mothers make 92% of their beds at the base of big trees with strong, coarse bark…

SLIDE 101

• which is safer than smooth or flaky bark for little cubs to climb. SLIDE 102

• Human children generally stay with their parents for 18 years. Cubs remain with their mothers for 16-‐17 months.

• Young females often remain in or near their mother’s territories for life. • Males usually leave at 1 ½ to 3 ½ years of age.

SLIDE 103 What should I do if I see a bear? [DISCUSSION] SLIDE 104 SLIDE 105 THE END SLIDE 106 Because of a high interest in bears, a group of educators from all over the country came together to build a curriculum about black bears. Besides lesson plans, our program offers interdisciplinary ideas in science, math, art, and language arts, as well as an extensive list of resources. The Educational Outreach program replaces misconceptions with current scientific information with a curriculum that meets state and common core standards for Pre-‐K through 12th grade. All of this information can be found online at bear.org. We also offer Black Bear Boxes.

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Black Bear Boxes offer hands-‐on learning for classrooms across the country. Each box is filled with activities for exploring the world of black bears using interdisciplinary, inquiry-‐based learning. The contents of the Black Bear Boxes are grouped by age-‐level. SLIDE 107 Teachers should be aware that once their students study black bears, bears could find their way into other studies, too, such as this test paper in which a student drew a black bear over one of the questions, stating “I can’t read the question. There’s a bear in the way.” We believe that with learning comes caring, and caring brings us to a step closer to accomplishing our mission—to advance the long-‐term survival of bears worldwide by replacing misconceptions with scientific facts. SLIDE 108 through SLIDE 121

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