. . . And BEARS! Oh My!

 

My Friend Rebecca, who lives near a state park, spotted this young
bear in her driveway in Powhatan.

Forget movie stars or super models…the absolute coolest woman I ever met is Katie Martin.  Martin is a wildlife biologist who WORKS WITH BEARS!  I grew up at a time when careers for women were in teaching and nursing, so I was in awe of Martin when she spoke, from experience, to James River Master Naturalists about black bears in Virginia.

Martin’s job with the Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries goes beyond educating the public to avoid conflicts with bears.  She also traps bears to fit them with GPS collars for research, and finds foster mothers for orphaned cubs. 

 

Biologist Katie Martin shows a GPS bear collar.

 

The Bear Facts

According to Martin, bears are intelligent and inquisitive.  Females, or sows, can grow up to 250 pounds, or more, while males, called boars, average 250 to 350 pounds, but can weight even more.  Bears see in color but have poor vision.  However, their sense of smell is seven times greater than a bloodhound’s. 

Bears are usually shy, solitary creatures that are driven by their stomachs, explained Martin.  Their main focus is food.  As omnivores and opportunistic feeders, a bear’s diet is 75 percent vegetarian, consisting of acorns and nuts, wild grapes, berries such as poke berries, fruit, grasses and plants. The rest of its diet consists of insects and larvae, carrion, small mammals, fish, amphibians and termite grubs.  As opportunistic feeders, a bear will take advantage of bird feeders, pet food, livestock feed and garbage. 

Female bears become sexually mature around three years of age and only give birth every other year.   After mating in summer, she bulks up on food before hibernating around November.   Then, she gives birth to two to four cubs around January and they will emerge from the den in springtime.  The cubs will remain with her for more than a year.

Males do not hibernate but are less active in winter.  They may bed down for a while and roam or forage when temperatures warm up to the sixties.

Foster Cubs

When a sow is killed by a car or hunters, young cubs were once taken to a wildlife facility until they were old enough to be relocated.  As adults they faced a high mortality rate because not only were they suddenly placed in unfamiliar territory, they lacked a mother to teach them the ways of the wild.  Martin is now involved in a new plan for raising orphan cubs.  She places them with another mother bear that already has cubs.  Sometimes this means slipping them into the den of a hibernating sow that will then raise them along with her own cubs.  It may be a lot of extra mouths to feed, but a mother bear is very nurturing and willing to carry the extra load.  This fostering program has been successful thus far.   GPS collars help locate the den sites.

A Fed Bear is a Dead Bear

Martin educates the public and works with landowners or communities to reduce and avoid bear conflicts.  When bears are spotted in a neighborhood she advises homeowners to remove any potential food source.  Bears tend to roam in search of food and do not spend time in one place if food isn’t available.  She advises homeowners to remove bird feeders from April 1 to December 1.  Also, homeowners should avoid feeding pets outdoors or inside near a doggie door.  Remove ripe fruit from trees or the ground.  Make sure your grill is clean and free of leftover food.  Keep trash cans latched. Electric fences are effective ways to keep bears from orchards, gardens or bee hives.  If no food is available in your yard, a hungry bear will move on in search of food elsewhere.

After finding empty feeders scattered and broken, and the metal pole
bent in half, I removed my feeders for a while.

 

Bear Sightings

If you encounter a bear, stay calm and slowly back away.  Do not run and tempt it to give chase.  If hiking with others, stay together and make noise.  Keep your dog leashed at all times.  A bear suddenly approached by a barking dog can become defensive and dangerous.  Carry bear spray in remote areas.

The Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries, DGIF, has useful information and interesting videos on their website about living with black bears in Virginia.  www.DGIF.virginia.gov.  Learn about the right closure for trash cans, how to deter and prevent bear encounters, and safety tips.  And if you do have bear problems, contact Katie Martin.  She knows EVERYTHING about bears!

 

Although Rebecca's birdfeeder is electrified, "Smokey"
made several attempts to empty it before giving up
and walking away.