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Black Bear's...Did you Know???

Fletch

Senior Member
Supporting Member
6,078
118
Ok since Black Bears are not thriving in Ohio and most know little about them, I figured I'd write a little info on what goes on with them in Pennsylvania and New Jersey.... By no means am I an expert in this field.. Just thought I'd share what I do know....
Both Pa. and N.J. have a very extensive black bear program to maintain a healthy population... Every March biologists head out in the woods to tag the newborn cub's... Cub's are born in late January and weigh roughly 11 ounces at birth... Wait a minute... She bred back in May or June and gives birth to an 11 ounce cub after being pregnant approx. 8 months??? This is because Black Bears have whats called DELAYED IMPLANTATION... The male bear fertilized her egg back in May or June however the egg floats around in her till sometime in Nov. At this time Mother Nature say's: Hey its about time we start growing and presto the egg attaches to the uterine wall and starts to grow... So the gestation period is not that long... Thus cub's weighing under a pound...
I've been fortunate enough to get invited on these cub tagging trips, and its cool as can be... Sows wearing radio collars are targeted mostly by aircraft and then hand held electronics... Once found they are shot with a dart and take a short nap... While mommy is taking her nap the cub's are pulled out and weighed and tagged, sometimes getting a tattoo inside their mouth... Cub's get 2 metal tags, one in each ear.. They are full size tags just like an adult would get... They get 2 because they often lose one or both due to brush, fighting etc... All the time the cub's are getting worked on, Mom is getting a new radio collar and a technician is usually right with her observing her vital signs... A vet is always their in case Mom has any issues... After cub's are processed they get a little forest dirt rubbed on them and are put back and we are on our way... Last time I went we did 2 sows and each had 4 cubs and all 8 cubs were males... Heres a few pics... In one you can see the technician lying just inside a brush pile... In another you'll see a cub getting tagged....

cubs 1.jpg
cubs 3.jpg
cubs 4.jpg
cubs 5.jpg
cubs2.jpg
 

Fletch

Senior Member
Supporting Member
6,078
118
If one or both tags are commonly lost, did you ever look for them while shed hunting in the spring? That’d be a pretty cool find.
That would be a cool find.... That would be like finding a very small needle in a very very large haystack... As for shed's in Jersey???? I might go to Home Depot to look at a shed.... Otherwise don't waste my time....
 

triple_duece

Ragin Cajun.
9,126
159
I have bears that are protected. Let me just put this out there.... it’s cool to see one in the wild......1!

They are nothing but a problem if you have them. Anything from stands, seats and tires on your Atv, oh don’t put no feed out or a feeder.
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They will also get your deer while you wait after the shot.
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As a private landowner I bet you know how I feel.
 

RedCloud

Super Moderator
Super Mod
17,381
193
North Central Ohio
Pretty cool info right there. Thanks for educating us a little bit.
Bears aren't thriving here yet but year after year we hear about more moving in. I just found out in the last week that there are 4 known in Marion, Ohio and is only about 30 minute drive from here.
 

Fletch

Senior Member
Supporting Member
6,078
118
Thanks for posting that is interesting
is 4 cubs unusual? in the wild I have never seen more than 2. Seems strange that they where all male also. I would have thought mother nature would produce more females than males.
4 cub's is not the norm... I would say 2 or 3 are more along normal lines... I did however one day have a sow step out in front of my truck and she was followed by 6 cub's.... That's definitely out of the ordinary... In my bear thread I have a pic of triplet cub's....
 

giles

Cull buck specialist
Supporting Member
Odds of them living to adults is low. Boars will kill the cubs to put the Sow into cycle again. At least in AK it’s that way, not sure about these bears. Black bears in all also have to deal with grizzlys killing them.

Grizzly - play dead, bear will piss on you and cover you up for a couple of days.

Blackie - fight for your life, they will kill you and eat what they can before a grizzly comes along and takes it.