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Show TKemcr ican Dl ack Dear CQPCUCHT ST HOD SID STUJM 7 T HAVE spent a ??5 '3 p3 good manv weeks, 'P even months, at a """Z&vzrrj-l time, In the varl- 'iV ' ous ranges of the 5S' black bear, and . Jljj might really 6ay with truth that v. we have practlcal- tf ly lived together Nl '' side by side. Sometimes just a little ridge might have separated us. where I could see, possibly the next morning after, that he had been having hav-ing a fine feast In a blueberry patent One night we were a little more sociable. so-ciable. I had Just removed the pelt from a coyote, and had Intended carrying car-rying the carcass away from camp the next day, but left it that night a few feet from my tent During the night my friend (who, by the way, always reminds me of a good-natured boy with a fur overcoat on), came down and saved me the trouble by carrying it away for me. I did not hear him arrive, for I believe I was asleep, but the telltale tracks were enough to convince me In the morning. And so by having lived with him in his own home, watched, photographed, and Btudied his ways, I can set down for those who may be interested, some of his characteristics and habits. The ange of the black bear extends ex-tends from Mexico to Alaska, and they have been met with In nearly every state and territory within the United States; also Labrador, Province of Quebec, Alberta and Aseinlboia, British Columbia, and the Mackenzie River basin. All black bears hibernate during the winter months. There are, however, woodsmen in the south who disagree with me on this point, saying they have seen their tracks during every month of the winter, and the mild climate does not force them to lay up in a cave or den as it would in the more severe weather of northern latitudes. I have myself seen bear tracks during the winter months, and even in the deep snow of the northern state. But this is the exception, and I have no doubt that these bears are simply shifting to another sleeping place, having been driven out for one reason or another. Their dens may not have been well chosen, and they possibly became leaky, or exposed to the winds, or some hunter might pass that way with a keen nose and an inquisitive in-quisitive canine that would cause him to roll out in a hurry. It Is safe to say all black bears den up both north and south, sometime between November Novem-ber 1 and January 1, depending on the altitude, weather and latitude. They emerge in the spring, usually from the first part of April to the middle mid-dle of May, according to conditions, the males often appearing some two weeks before the females. It is at this time in the spring, just after they have left their winter quarters, that a bear's pelt is In Its prime. During hibernation, as no food is laid up, they, of course, do not eat, nor do they drink, unless they make use of the snow that has fallen about them. Contrary to the general supposition, they are not in a deep coma or hazy condition, for they are easily aroused. It is true that they sleep, but are quick to detect danger and fully equal to the occasion of making off and looking up other quarters If disturbed. dis-turbed. The cunning little cubs (for what deserves the name more than a little woolly, back cub?) are brought forth during hibernation, usually between February 1 and March 1, and It Is several weeks before they are able to leave the den with their mother. From one to four cubs may be born I would say two or three is the average; aver-age; four is rare, but three Is often met with, and a she-bear followed by one cub does not always indicate that the young hopeful had no brothers or sisters, as they may not have survived sur-vived all the dangers of cubdom. At birth they are ridiculously small, compared com-pared with the size of the mother, and weigh but a few ounces. I have never weighed one, but understand that Dr. Hornaday, director of the New York Zoological park, has, and their weight runs from 8 to 18 ounces, depending on the number in the litter. lit-ter. Their eyes are closed they have no teeth, nor have they their little furry jacket as yet The reason advanced ad-vanced for bears being so unusually small at birth, is that the old bear having remained all winter without food, and not being able to forage for some weeks after the young are born, it would naturally be a great drain to nurse cubs that weighed several pounds. So Nature has thus provided In this way. Unlike the grizzly, the black bears mate every year, or nearly so. Grlz-zlys Grlz-zlys may be put down for about every other year. When the cubs are from six to eight weeks old, they are able to accompany their mother and do so all during that summer. It Is usually about berry time before the little fellows fel-lows develop a grown-up appetite and commence to rustle for themselves. Not very long after this the old bear drives them off to shift for themselves. them-selves. In some cases they have been found denning the following fall with their mother, but this is unusual. Now a little bear knows exactly what he wants, and what is good to eat Just as well as you do. He knows every root, every bulb, every berry that will make him fat and happy. How does he know this? I cannot I I v ' - r i I ' ' " i - x ' " - -- t i .y , . s- ' ' r J.J , . ' 'v V t. i , - v FOUR OF THEM ATHOMEL &l , sV V - f : $pt IHEAUTHOSMIDAhEWdlMSYJKZmaCBEiR say; you will have to ask him. When I say this I have in mind the following follow-ing case that was brought to my notice: no-tice: A young cub, only a few weeks old, was caught one spring and fed on milk. He was kept in camp until the following fall when they moved camp down on some bottom lands. Here, while running about, he would suddenly sud-denly stop, dig up some roots and devour de-vour them with a relish. He seemed to be as fully prepared to forage for himself as if he had been taking lessons les-sons from his mother all summer, Another much mistaken idea about the black bear is that he emerges from hiB winter quarters very thin and emaciated (this so far, is true) ; that he is desperately hungry after his long fast; or is terribly ferocious, and inclined to attack anything on sight, man included. This is not so, although I have often heard it so stated. Not even a black bear with his enviable digestive apparatus can or does indulge in a hearty meal after so long a fast. The organs of a bear are no different from those of a man in this respect, and after their long disuse are only capable of assimilating assimilat-ing the daintiest morsels of food such as grass shoots, tender roots and their like. In fact, at first they show little or no desire to, eat, but after a few days they commence to partake again of. pretty much everything. 1 say this because a bear is omnivorous, which means that he eats quite generally gener-ally everything both vegetables and meat. They are not as carnivorous as generally supposed, usually being contented con-tented with such small animals as ground squirrels and field mice, but still, when the opportunity offers, they have a great propensity for stealing down ever so carefully to a near-by farm and carrying off a fat little shoat. They, too, have a great weakness weak-ness for sheep, and it is hardly necessary neces-sary for me to mention honey and sweets, for here we see him again like a good-natured, mischievous boy. The various Insects form a long list of goodies for them, and they spend much of their time overturning Btones, prying open old stumps and logs, poking pok-ing their nose and sniffing at every tiny hole or crevice for such dainty morsels as grubs, caterpillars, crickets, and ants. The black bear seems to partake of such a variety of food that it is hard to say just which he enjoys the most Ants are one of his favorite dishes, and I have no doubt that they consume as many of these as some of the ant-eaters of South America. One of their favorite methods of catching a certain species of ants, which are very vicious little fighters. Is to thrust a paw in the midst of one of their hills, and as they swarm over the bear's paw with the purpose of attacking their enemy, they are quickly lapped up. But what greater picture of contentment content-ment can one imagine than a beA In a good-sized blueberry patch? Sitting half up on hiB haunches and pulling the branches towards him with his paws fairly shoveling in the berries that help fatten him up for the long winter they are Indeed great berry eaters and will often travel miles to locate a patch, and then will patronize it long and often. Last fall in the Sierra Madre mountains moun-tains in northern Mexico I was camped for some weeks on a wild canyon through which ran a small river. Along the banks grew numerous juniper trees and for several miles I could see where the branches had been literally ail pulled down by bears in pursuit of the Bweet juniper berries. I do not think I have ever seen so much bear sign; it looked as if all the bear in the country had been in on the great feast It was the latter part of December De-cember and they had just recently gone into winter quarters, or we certainly would have been able to make a record on bears if we had cared to. There Is another red berry that grows In that section the bear are very fond of, I think the name is manacea It is a low-growing tree and the bears are often given to sunning themselves in these trees. The black bear prefers his meat well tainted, and, in fact, I do not believe be-lieve it can be too strong for him. Unlike the grizzly he does not cover over or bury a carcass, but this again Is only characteristic of him, for he does not feed, or In fact do anything as systematically or as seriously as the grizzly much preferring a little mischief to work, and here again we see him the happy-go-lucky fellow. I cannot take space to mention all the fancies of his appetite, but this gives a very good general idea of his diet. I must not omit to say, however, he is something of a fisherman, both for game and for sport, and with a quick stroke of his paw, sends many an unsuspecting fish hurtling through the air to land well up on the bank, where he can once more please his palate. I have often heard of seven hundred pound black bears; there are none. Between Be-tween four and five hundred pounds are as heavy as they will ever tip the scales. Bears are very rarely weighed by hunters, and the estimates given of their weight are very often much in excess, but, of course, not always purposely so. Broadly speaking, I would say that the average weight of the average black bear, taking them as you happen to find them, would be approximately one hundred and fifty pounds. I am not speaking of full-grown full-grown bears, as one is likely to kill several partly-grown bears to one full grown. A full-grown bear in the spring may weigh but a little over two hundred, hun-dred, and the same bear in the fall might easily be close to a four hundred hun-dred pounder. How many of us have gone into the woods in our early hunting days and looked around wondering which would really be the safest tree to shin up in case an old black bear should have designs on us. Now that little sapling over there looks good. They say a slim tree with no branches Is the best to nest in on an occasion like this. But for those who do not already know, we will settle that question ques-tion right here. It does not matter In the least what tree you select, whether wheth-er it is one some two or three feet In diameter, or Just that little sapling; it is safe to say if you can get up, so can the bear. But this is the point; he won't come. No black bear, when given such a fine opportunity to get away, will stick around. Their claws, which are very unlike those of the grizzly, are especially adapted for climbing, while the front paws of a grizzly are especially adapted for digging, dig-ging, being long, and from four to six Inches In length, and nearly straight Grizzlies do not and cannot climb trees. On the other hand, the black bear's claws are shorter, more curved, and thicker at the base, which enables them to go up a huge tree very much as a cat or a squirrel would, and also a slim one just large enough to sustain sus-tain their weight In conclusion would say that I do not prentend to know all about black bears no one man can; but I have found them sufficiently interesting to' have taken a great deal of pleasure In devoting a long study to them, and have here set down only what 1 kno' 1 to be facts. ' |