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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....
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....