Black Bear

Date: November 12th,

Location of sighting: My parents house in Horseheads New York during a weekend visit.

Physical description of location:  My parents house is surrounded by woods, they have 11 acres, a game bird coup, a garage and three barns that are packed with gardening tools, hunting decoys, softball equipment (i used to play when i was younger) old furniture from my grandparents house and other varies items.  There is a large field with a pond beyond our property that a friend of my parents own.  They let us hike and hunt back there, they have about 100 acres.

Describe the sighting:  I was hanging out at my parents house for the weekend, hoping to get some good sightings and pictures of wildlife for my class.  My mom would tell me how many times she saw wildlife but never got any good pictures of them.  She told me she saw a red fox the other night but her camera is dead so she didnt get a good picture.  As i was sitting at the kitchen table sometime during the afternoon, Wally, their hunting dog started going crazy, barking at the front window.  I got excited cause he kept  running up and down the stairs, barking and carrying on.  My dad told me not to open the door in case it was the bear that was showing his face around the house was out there.  I went to the front window and opened the sliding glass door, standing on the porch and looking over the side to the ground.  I had my crappy phone camera ready, just in case it was something worth taking a picture of.  A cute little black bear was staring up at me, and i was excited to see him.  My parents have told me of sightings of him but never got any good pictures.  I know it was a black bear because of the no hump on his back and the gently sloped forehead. (My camera does nothing to what the eye can see) After he took off i wanted to go down and see the destruction of the bear but my dad told me not too in case he was still around the area.  I know now that its highly unlikely that he would have attacked me.  He was also worried about Wally getting out and chasing him, he's a very sneaky dog and can get out very easily. I didnt want him to sneak around me as i opened the door and take off after the bear.  (My mom and i got my dad a trail camera for christmas, so hopefully we'll get some good pictures of him or some other wildlife when we get it hooked up)

Natural history:  According to Stoke's in his book, the black bear's home range is 20-175 square miles in the wooded forests or mountains.  He was eating garbage from my parents garbage can.  They are also known to eat berries, insects, carrion and small mammals.  They mate from June to July and have their young in January and February.  They can have up to 4 young but are known to only have 2.  The cubs are independent after 18 months. (p.309)


For future study:  The next time i see a bear or hear my parents talking about them, im going to do some investigating and find some signs of the bear.  How many times do they come around the house?

Sources: Stokes, D. and Stokes, L. 1986. Guide to Animal and Tracking and Behavior.