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bd95287d-9e19-40b4-91a5-83c91c8a8974 BLACK BEAR DIET Pin Cherry Prunus pensylvanica July, August Summer Pin cherry is a common tree in northern Minnesota’s forests. It is intolerant of shade, and often grows quickly following a disturbance such as fire, logging or storms that open up the forest canopy. Black bears eat the berries which are shiny, bright red and very sour when they mature in early July to late mid-August.

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4f4bdb10-bb50-46cf-bfc8-8ab7b1bfd807 < Back Slide 59 of 83 < > Smaller birds also use white pines. Over half the 141 woodland bird species in the northeastern United States live in habitats that include white pines.

92da669f-6b7b-41a9-9d05-866a19e3bc70 < Back Slide 71 of 83 < > No other tree can replace the values white pines have to a variety of wildlife in northern Minnesota.

04bbe5af-6d79-47c3-9016-4f257e77871d BLACK BEAR DIET Tent Caterpillar . June, July Late Spring, Summer In outbreak years, tent caterpillars usually hatch in May and defoliate huge areas. They then pupate in June or early July. As the caterpillars grow, they increase their fat content, and also develop stiff hairs and calcium oxalate crystals that clog digestive tracks, which makes them unpalatable to most animals and birds. Bears eat the caterpillars at this time. No one knows how bears deal with the hairs and crystals as they make these caterpillars their main meal when they are at their fattest. Interestingly, although tent caterpillars provide food for bears in the spring, they reduce food for bears in the summer due to their defoliating berry bushes in June, which reduces berry production in July/August.

6f3aa18a-9d2d-4881-bdb4-38c41058c37a BLACK BEAR DIET Mountain Maple Acer spicatum April Late Winter Mountain Maple is the smallest of Minnesota's native maple species, growing as a tall shrub or small tree(up to 14' tall). In the early spring, black bears feed on the flowers produced by this tree.

969e6a3c-6f8f-4196-b7ea-0a79fbcec657 < Back Slide 56 of 83 < > Finally, is it important to keep white pines for wildlife? U.S. Forest Service studies showed that as scarce as white pines are, they still hold 80% of the eagle nests and 77% of the osprey nests in the Superior National Forest. These birds seek out white pines that strongly.

May 3, 2023 Late spring prompts more bear complaints Posted Wednesday, May 3, 2023 7:14 pm Marshall Helmberger REGIONAL— It’s been a long winter, and not just for the human residents of the North Country. Black bears are emerging from their long winter naps hungrier than usual, and with the late snow melt they’re finding little in the way of natural foods to recover after several months without eating. And that’s got at least a few bears turning to other sources of potential food, like bird feeders and other animal feed put out by local livestock growers, causing damage at residences mostly in the Tower area. “We had a big bear on the property Thursday night,” said Becky Gawboy, who raises a variety of livestock just south of Tower. “It destroyed the inside of the pig yard, ripped off the door, and sent the pigs running. They were gone for days.” The big bruin also tipped over the Gawboy’s bird feeder, and pulled down a peanut feeder that was hung eight feet up in the air. “He just trashed everything everywhere he went,” said Gawboy. The bear was a repeat offender, showing up the next day. But Gawboy said all her animals and various sources of food had been moved to the barn by then, relatively safe behind locked doors. The bear was also back on Monday night this week, and pulled down the one remaining peanut feeder, which was nearly empty. Jessica Holmes, DNR Tower Area wildlife manager, said the problem appears to be a localized one this spring. “There’s a local bear that’s creating a lot of havoc, including here at the DNR office,” said Holmes. She said bears often turn to easy sources of food in the spring, especially before some of the spring greens start emerging. “But we’re hearing no widespread complaints. It appears to be a pretty isolated situation.” The problem bear hasn’t been content to wreak havoc at just one location. Just down the road from Gawboys, what appears to be the same bear has left Lisa Anderson and her family feeling almost trapped inside their house, fearful of going outside without a gun. Anderson said she first saw the big bear while coming home from Tower on Saturday evening. She turned into her driveway to see it standing in the middle of the drive, looking at her. She honked the horn, but rather than running away as she expected, the bear scratched at the dirt, squatted, and defecated, producing what she described as an enormous pile of partially digested black oil sunflower seeds. Rather than try to make a run for the house, she drove away for a while, hoping the bear would leave. Instead, it went on a rampage, ripping down fences that house her sizable flocks of chickens, ducks, geese, and guinea hens. It’s also caused damage to fences that contain her horses, and left them unusually skittish. Anderson said the bear has returned repeatedly since then. She’s tried using firecrackers and pistol shots to scare the bear away, mostly without effect. While the bear’s initial foray onto her property seemed to focus on accessing animal feed, she was petrified when it ventured onto her deck the other night, concerned that it would try to gain entry to the house. “There is no food there, so the only reason to come on the deck would be to break in,” she said. Anderson said she contacted the Department of Natural Resources and spoke to a conservation officer who told her that the agency no longer relocates Anderson said that isn’t the answer she was looking for. “I want it gone, I don’t want it dead,” she said. In the meantime, she said she doesn’t go outside without a gun right now just in case the bear shows up. While most residents haven’t seen the kind of damage experienced by Anderson or Gawboy, bears have been showing up at residences all around the area. Bears, of various sizes, have been frequent visitors around homes in Tower and elsewhere, scrounging for anything edible, but most damage, if any, has been minor. Anderson said the conservation officer she spoke with told her that the situation would improve in the next few weeks as things start to green up and bears turn their attention elsewhere for food. While the bear will eventually move on, neither Anderson nor Gawboy is interested in waiting around if the bear is going to continue to cause damage. Gawboy said if the bear shows up during daylight, she’ll solve the problem— permanently.

f20d7aee-42b8-4e9f-96ff-b85c8ad268b0 < Back Licking Just Before Birth A half an hour before birth she begins licking herself. Previous Next

4d920656-1ca5-47c1-9225-7092667a1314 < Back Slide 70 of 83 < > When cubs have to stay up trees for hours to escape danger, it's important in spring in northern Minnesota that the tree be a white pine that can give shade instead of a deciduous tree that doesn't have any leaves yet because even on cool days, the sun can make cubs' black fur so hot they can die if they can't find shade.

VOCALIZATIONS AND BEHAVIORS When a b ear makes sounds and gestures, what do they mean to communicate? We cannot speak bear, but we can have a very good idea what a bear wants to say when it speaks. We can watch how a bear communicates with other bears and then recognize the similarities when a bear tries to communicate with a human. What we have learned is that when bears communicate with people in this manner, an attack on a person has not happened. Too often bears are killed by people for communicating with people the best way they know how. The bears are killed because their behavior during communication is misunderstood as being aggressive and dangerous. The communicating bear is not aggressive, it is uneasy and nervous. Mike McIntosh WiseAboutBears.org Video and Audio files provided by the Wildlife Research Institute and the North American Bear Center Family and Friendly Sounds Cub Screaming When cubs are afraid, they scream. That’s the sound that brings mom running. Cubs Nursing Black bear cubs make motor-like pleasure sounds as they nurse. Friendly Sounds of a Captive Bear Friendly sounds are tongue-clicks and grunts. Grunts From Mother to Cub Grunts are most often from mothers to cubs. The cub is saying, “Mom, come back. I need you.” When she comes, we’ll hear the mother give a couple higher-pitched grunts of greeting and then her usual grunts of concern. Motherly Grunts June with her cubs Spring 2007. Mourning a Missing Cub They use their human-like voice to express a number of emotions. This sound of mourning is from a mother who is missing a cub. she made this sound for 3 days, even while nursing her other cubs, until the moment they all were re-united. Tongue Clicks During Courting Tongue-clicks are most intense when they are from a male to an estrus females. Scary Sounds You Shouldn't Be Afraid Of Harmless Nervous Bluster These instinctive behaviors are displays of nervousness and not preludes to an attack Moaning This moan of fear is sometimes interpreted as a growl. It’s often from a bear too scared to come down from a tree. Forceful blowing indicates high anxiety Anxiety is expressed with a long, narrowed muzzle and forceful blowing, sometimes followed by clacking teeth. Huffing is the release of nervous energy Bears huff when they’re getting over a scare, like a person taking a deep breath. They do it when they reach safety up a tree, when they finally dare to come down, and when they stop running away. Bluff-charging is harmless bluster This mother had an unusual tendency to bluff-charge. When she got close, she showed fear by blowing and clacking her teeth just before she retreated. Pounce and slap = nervous uncertainty When a bear is uncertain, it often lunges toward the possible danger, slaps the ground or a tree, and blows. It’s just part of assessing whether to run or stay. Sounds of Conflict Bears make a deep-throated pulsing sound when they are very distressed.

54302c11-ea25-4fb8-8f6c-2fddebb9c68c < Back Elimination of Waste When the mother had to urinate or defecate, she backed into a corner—or to the entrance. The cub cried for the mother to come back and keep it warm. Notice the trail of urine at the end of the video. Previous Next