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Outdoor Corner: Winter survival of black bears
Gene Plihal
for Smoky River Express
Black bears will soon be poking their heads out of their dens wondering if it’s time to escape the den and begin foraging. Spring is around the corner and whether or not a black bear makes it through the winter tupor in order to enjoy another year’s life is contingent on a number of variables.
First and foremost, there is the matter of what condition the bear goes into the den with. If a bear goes into the den in late October with little or no fat, chances are the bear will starve during the winter and simply not come out of the den. Because the carcass of a starved bear will never be found in most instances, winter mortality rates are difficult to establish unless the bear is radio collared.
The there’s the matter of wolves. Recently cases have been cited of wolves finding bear dens and then entering the den and pulling and taunting the bear until the bear came out into the open where a pack greeted the bear and then ultimately this spelled doom for the bear, who in mid-winter, isn’t particularly alert being in a semi-hibernation state. Of course, there is always the escape route of crawling up a tree which a wolf obviously can’t do, but this is hardly an option in minus 30 degree whether for a sustained period of time. The wolves simply wait at the base of the tree for the bear to come down. In spring, summer and fall, this same bear would be more than a formidable opponent for any wolf or pack, but not in mid-winter.
Another factor causing bear mortality not commonly discussed is the effect of midwinter logging. With huge cats, skidders and other equipment clear cutting bush, inevitably bear dens will be disturbed, damaged or crushed by the heavy equipment. What happens to the bear then, particularly if the den happens to have small cubs which are born in winter to the sow? If the den is crushed along with its occupants, no evidence will ever be found of these bears.
If the bears are forced out of the den and miraculously escape crushing, they are out in the depths of snow with nowhere to go, in some cases.
Of course, the same may be said for squirrels, rabbits, fisher, marten and a myriad of other animals which are forced out of their habitat by logging.
If bears can escape winter starvation, wolf predation and destruction of their dens, spring awaits them in all of its bountiful offerings. The earliest I have seen bears coming out is about the fifteenth of March on south facing river banks. Of course, bears will come out of their den periodically during the winter for brief spells only to renter their dens after a brief rendezvous with familiar spots. Sows with cubs are usually out first because, not unlike humans, the little ones are restless and sometimes make it impossible for adults to “sleep in”.
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This early spring bear finds a relatively barren landscape and will have to survive on early plants and winter killed wildlife (carrion). One of the first signs that a bear has come out of his/her den is the huge pile of grass/hay voided by the animal commonly thought to be the bear’s “gut plug”which prevents the fouling of the bear’s den with feces during the winter.
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