March Of The Black Bears

March Of The Black Bears by James L. Bruner
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Last week I awoke to 2 inches of new snow followed by 8 hours of rain which was complimented by 50 mph winds and a drop in temperature that found us sitting at -10 Fahrenheit by midnight. Mid-March in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan can be a mixed bag of weather and the resident population of black bears perceive these weather changes as a wake-up call. It’s a sure bet that some bears have left their silent slumber and are on the prowl for a quick meal. With very little food substance readily available bears will make use of their previous knowledge and feeding routes in an attempt to fill their stomachs and your yard could be at the top of their dining list.

Now let’s set the tables straight right from the start here. I will not be writing this article from excerpts and research that others have published in regards to black bear behavior and activities. I have had more than my share of black bear encounters which, more times than not, were a direct result of my own actions or lack thereof to deter this powerful and adaptive animal. In essence I set the table and left the door open for the hungry bear and the invitation was accepted with open paws.

Living In Bear Country

In the Upper Peninsula of Michigan we have a healthy, and thriving, black bear population. With our sprawling forests even an animal as large and visibly noticeable as the bear can easily dissect a safe travel route from one feeding area to another without being detected. Often this means that the bear can traverse the multitude of sporadic homesteads, often under the cover of darkness, in an attempt to satisfy his burgeoning appetite. A bear is not a picky eater. An opportunistic feeder like the black bear will take advantage of anything from birdseed and pet food to roadkill and an entire menu that falls in between those lines. Although the word opportunistic may cast the thought that the bear will eat anything, he is still intimately aware that some food sources are of better nutritional value than others and will capitalize on those sources first. Here’s an example.

The bear photo above shows a 400 pound black bear in a culvert trap. This trap was located in my front yard, 10 feet from my daughters bedroom window. This particular bear was a night-feeder, nocturnal if you will, as he would only appear after dark and leave before sunrise. He was drawn in by the bird feeder that held black sunflower seed for the plethora of wild birds that visit our yard on a daily basis. Strike one against me and kudos to the bear for being so resourceful. Several days prior I had noticed that our feeder, which was filled at the end of each day, was now empty every morning when I awoke. It was apparent that the feeder was hit at night and I chalked it up to raccoons but paid more attention the following evening. The hours passed by until 4 a.m. revealed a black bear sitting on his rump using his tongue to extract every last seed from the feeder. Now, I wasn’t really surprised to see a bear. As I’ve eluded to previously we’re no strangers to bear encounters. What did surprise and fascinate me completely was the fact that this large powerful animal could so delicately grasp this plastic bird feeder in it’s paws and use it’s tongue to retrieve the seeds without even scratching the fragile feeder. Even moreso was the fact that he wasn’t concerned that I stood 6 feet away watching him from the window.

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