Transcript Wolves & Raptors - Adirondack Wildlife Refuge

Understanding Black Bears
Steve Hall
Adirondack Wildlife Refuge & Rehab Center
www.AdirondackWildlife.org
977 Springfield Rd., Wilmington, NY
Understanding Black Bears
What We Do at ADK
Wildlife
Which Bears Live Where?
A Uniquely American Bear
Black Bears Through the
Seasons
Denning & Hibernation
Causes of Mortality
Protecting Bears
Camping & Living with
Bears around
The Truth about Bear
Attacks
Adirondack Wildlife Refuge & Rehab Center
www.AdirondackWildlife.org
What we do at ADK Wildlife Refuge & Rehab Center:
Rehab Injured Wildlife
Need Licenses from US Fish & Wildlife
& NY DEC!
Work with veterinarians & volunteers
3 possible outcomes:
Animal recovers
& is released - 70%
Animal dies - 15%
Animal recovers,
can’t be released – 15%
Want to help?
Be Prepared
Throw a blanket
& box in the car
Never touch raccoon, fox or bat
www.AdirondackWildlife.org
What we do at ADK Wildlife Refuge & Rehab Center:
Education with Non-Releasable Wildlife
Need License from US Fish & Wildlife
www.AdirondackWildlife.org
Friends & Volunteers
www.AdirondackWildlife.org
Adirondack Habitat Awareness Day
Featuring Wolves, Coywolves, Fox, Bobcat, Eagles, Owls, Hawks & Falcons –
Learn about Critical Habitat Issues
Dr. Curt Stager: Flora, Fauna & Climate Change - Dr. Nina Schoch: Loons as Indicator Species - Dave Gibson of
Adirondack Wild : State of the Park – Laurie Lafond of IBA: Critical Grasslands Habitat - Dr. Dan Hall: Canine
Cardiac Health - DEC: Soil & Water Conservation – Andy Joachim & Steve Hall: Wolves, Bear & “Bruce the Moose”
– Dr. Jon Way: Coywolves - David Fadden: Mohawk Story Teller - Wildlife Rehab, Bird Banding & Release - Ausable
River Assoc. – Refreshments by Green Goddess - No Admission Charge: Any Donations go to Adirondack Wildlife,
Inc., 501c non-profit.
Adirondack Wildlife Refuge
& Rehab Center
977 Springfield Road, Fishing Access, Wilmington, NY 12997
Sunday, Sept. 1st: 10 AM-5 PM
866-235-9655 www.AdirondackWildlife.org 855-WolfMan
Black Bear Range
500,000 in North America
7,000 in New York State
4,000 in the Adirondacks
Pennsylvania # 1 state in lower
48 for black bear Habitat
Oak uplands, maple swamps &
wet thickets
Younger pregnancies, larger
litters & larger bears!
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Cordata
Class: Mammalia
Order: Carnivora
Family: Ursidae
Species: Ursus Americanus
http://www.dec.ny.gov/animals
/7215.html
www.AdirondackWildlife.org
Grizzly Bear
60,000 in North America
Evolved in Asia, crossed the Bering
Land Bridge 100,000 years ago
Anatomy: basically a Carnivore
Behaviour: basically an omnivore
Grizzly vs. Brown Bear
www.AdirondackWildlife.org
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Cordata
Class: Mammalia
Order: Carnivora
Family: Ursidae
Species: Ursus Arctos
Alaskan Brown
www.AdirondackWildlife.org
Polar Bear
20 to 25,000 worldwide
Strict Carnivore
750 – 1,500 lbs.
Evolutionary split from
Grizzlies in Asia after glacial
isolation about 130k yrs
Grizzly-Polar hybrids
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Cordata
Class: Mammalia
Order: Carnivora
Family: Ursidae
Species: Ursus Maritimus
www.AdirondackWildlife.org
Black Bear Basic Facts
Males 150 to 550 lbs, avg. 300
Females 90 to 300 lbs, avg. 170
Avg. life span about 15 years in the wild.
Best sense of smell, many sound expressions.
Anatomically basically a carnivore
Behaviourly mainly an omnivore
Walks pigeon-toed, runs up to 30 mph
Powerful shoulders & arms
Curved Claws for climbing
Dexterous paws for manipulating
Marks by clawing, biting, & body-rubbing
trees, peeing & stiff-legged paw tracks.
Expanding from Adirondack, Catskill &
Alleghany ranges
Brown Color Phases out west
www.AdirondackWildlife.org
Ted, heavyweight at
the Int’l Bear Center in
Ely, Minn.
Black Bears Had A Scary & Difficult History
Pleistocene Freezer
Ancestors Crossed Bering Land
Bridge about 500,000 years ago
Seasonal Availability of Food
Short-Faced Bear
Bergman’s Rule
Artodus simus
www.AdirondackWildlife.org
Black Bear or Grizzly?
Cinnamon black bear,
Dan Hall, Ontario 1990
Adirondack Black
Bear –rear pad
Bears come in different color phases
www.AdirondackWildlife.org
Denali grizzly –
front pad
Black Bear
through the Seasons
www.AdirondackWildlife.org
Spring – Wake Up!
Biochemical narcosis
Adults continue to burn fat & lose weight
Cubs nurse & continue to gain
weight
Mom teaches foraging
Where, what & when
Food sources
Squirrels’ nut caches
Early Spring vegetation:
Denali, May 2012, by Kim Fedkiw
grasses skunk cabbage & fiddleheads
Roots, corms. Early fruits & leaves
catkins
High protein, low cellulose
Carrion
Predation of fawns and moose calves
June: Ants, ant pupae, bees, yellow
jackets
www.AdirondackWildlife.org
Summer – Dinner & Romance
Mating in late June or early
July
Sow Promiscuity during a lengthy
Estrus
Ten to 30 minute copulation
Delayed implantation
Fat sow becomes pregnant when she
dens & blastocyst attaches to uterine
wall
Blastocysts in anorexic sows dissolve
“Soft Mast” - Berry crops
July: pin cherries, sarsaparilla
berries, and blueberries
August: red raspberries , choke
cherries, dogwood fruits and
blackberries
Drought means berry crop failure,
& more bears in the campground
www.AdirondackWildlife.org
Territories
Dispersal
Territory Sizes Depend….
…on Gender
…Time of Year
… and Food Availability
More fluid than Wolf
Pack territories
…and more tolerant!
Mother Territories and
Daughter Territories
www.AdirondackWildlife.org
Autumn – Time to Get fat!
What is Hyperphagia?
Going from eating 5 to 8
kilocalories per day, to 15 to 20.
Feed up to 20 hours per day!
”Bear’s Nests” in the trees
Mast bounty = Rodent
explosion & more predators
Mast Failures & the Fall Shuffle
September:
American mountain-ash berries,
black cherries, mountain holly
fruits, and hazelnuts
October:
beechnuts, acorns, wild apple,
arrowwood and wild raisin.
www.AdirondackWildlife.org
Denning – The Long Nap
Dens may be caves, hollows
in trees, under your porch, or
just a clearing in some brush
Dens may be lined with
leaves, boughs, grasses
Timing all about Latitude!
Pregnant sows den 1st in late
September through October
Sows with yearling cubs den
together, and barren sows by
late October
Boars den by mid to late Nov
Low Den Re-use, except by
pregnant sows
No cohabitation
http://fw.ky.gov/blackbearreproduction.asp
www.AdirondackWildlife.org
Hibernation or Dormancy?
Seasonal reduction of metabolism,
concurrent with reduction in food
availability and temperature.
Bears Burn Fat, not Protein
Produces more energy & more water, but
less urine, which is recycled anyway.
Urea in blood -> CO2, H20 & Ammonia.
Nitrogen shuttle: Ammonia & Glycerol
produces amino acids & protein
3 grams of urea nitrogen -> 21 grams of
protein, required to develop one cub.
Lose 25% to 40% of Body Mass, but not
lean body mass
Hibernation period -> latitude & climate
Fat Trigger?
Black bears can only hibernate in Winter,
while polar bears can hibernate at any
time
N.A. Bear Center – “June” denning
http://www.flickr.com/groups/1379701@N23/discuss/72157627795123302/
www.AdirondackWildlife.org
Pregnancy & Birth
Delayed implantation
Fat sow becomes pregnant when she
dens
Blastocysts in anorexic sows dissolve
Sows give birth in January during
virtual starvation, an “external”
pregnancy
Cubs weigh about 12 oz at birth
About 10 lbs. by April
Orphaned cubs may be placed with
nursing sow
Mama’s milk 25-30% fat, low
carbo, high in ash, calcium &
phosphorus, from 6 nipples.
http://dnr.wi.gov/org/land/wildlife/PUBL/wlnotebook/bear.htm
www.AdirondackWildlife.org
Medical Interests in Studying Bears
Gallstone Treatment
Kidney Disease
From studying
Hibernation processes:
Atherosclerosis
Muscle Cramps
Bone Calcium Loss
Renal disease
Anorexia
Skin regeneration
Suspended animation
North American Bear Center
www.AdirondackWildlife.org
www.bear.org
Are Bears Intelligent?
Can They Reason,
Understand & Learn?
www.AdirondackWildlife.org
www.AdirondackWildlife.org
www.AdirondackWildlife.org
www.AdirondackWildlife.org
How Intelligent are Bears?
Grizzlies and
calves
Yosemite: the
“VW Bear”
www.AdirondackWildlife.org
Camping in Bear Country
Keep a Clean Campsite!
Use Bear Canisters: “BearVault”
brand may not be reliable yet
Store the food away from the
Campsite!
Prepare food at least 100 ft.
away from sleeping area
Bear encounters
Local DEC
Number:
518-897-1291
Bang Pots & Pans together!
Don’t Challenge the Bear
Above, DEC biologist Lou
Berchielli with “Yellow-Yellow”,
left campers in High Peaks, both
from Adirondack Daily Enterprise
www.AdirondackWildlife.org
Living in Bear Country
Lock your doors & windows!
Don’t Feed Them!
Pet Food Bowls
Bird Feeders
Camp Fire Food
Compost
Secure Your Trash
Use Solar Electric Fencing
Photo by Deb MacKenzie
www.AdirondackWildlife.org
Causes of Mortality
Habitat Loss
Forest Fragmentation
Hunting In 28 states
Reintroduced in Arkansas &
Louisiana
Avg. age of bears killed by
hunters in Minn.
Males – 2, females - 3
Poaching
Asian Market for Gall Bladders
& Bear Paws
South Korean “Hanyuk”
medicine
Guided Hunts
Cubs & Yearlings
Starvation, predation,
parasites & falls
http://www.dec.ny.gov/outdoor/28605.html
Motor Vehicle
www.AdirondackWildlife.org
Protecting the Black Bear
Maintaining Wilderness
Sanctuaries
Protecting Sows through
Adjusting Hunting Seasons
Stiffer penalties for
Poaching & illegal trade in
animal
http://www.cawtglobal.org/wildlife-crime/
www.AdirondackWildlife.org
The Truth about Bear Attacks
“You only read about a bear
when he bites someone”
Bart the Bear
Grizzly attacks in US-Canada:
4 – 6 per year
How many people see
Grizzlies up close?
Fatal Black Bear attacks - 23
in last 100 years
Spider bites: 17 times as many
fatalities
snakebite 25, Domestic dogs 67,
Lightening 374
If attacked, then what?
Pepper Spray or Firearms?
Predatory or Defensive attack?
www.AdirondackWildlife.org
Where the
Wild Things
Were
Nature is a TopDown System
Predators
Herbivores
Plants
Trophic
Cascades
Otters, Kelp &
Killer Whales
Conservation
Biology &
Biodiversity
www.AdirondackWildlife.org
http://www.lausd.k12.ca.us/Figueroa_EL/lifescience4.htm
References on Black Bears
Main reference for this
presentation: “Great
American Bear”, by Jeff Fair
http://www.bear.org/website/
www.AdirondackWildlife.org
Learn more! Google these Bear Experts
Lynn Rogers, Minnesota
Charlie Russell,
Kamchatka
Stephen
Herrero,
Calgary
Doug Peacock,
Montana
Ben Kilham,
New Hampshire
James
Halfpenny,
Yellowstone
www.AdirondackWildlife.org
Gary
Alt,
Pa.
Jeff Fair, New
Hampshite
Other Critters at the Refuge
www.AdirondackWildlife.org
Thank You!
Adirondack Wildlife Refuge & Rehab Center
www.AdirondackWildlife.org
977 Springfield Rd., Wilmington, NY 12997
1-855-Wolf-Man