Tiny the Black Bear - Marking and Mischief

There's so much going on at home that I'm going to step away from the desert trip for a moment to give you a bear update.

You may remember Tiny, the biggest male black bear I've ever seen, who rules our neck of the woods during mating season (usually around June). We caught our first glimpses of him on 5/25, when he trekked many miles marking every black bear "whammy" tree in the area. I have video cams at most of those trees so I got some fun footage plus some still photos.

He came back a few days later to discover that all his amorous messages had gone unanswered, except for a response from a bobcat who leaped onto a tree that Tiny had marked. Then, the bobcat rolled around at the foot of the tree, leaving his own scent mark.

It is fascinating to me that different species respond to each other's scent messages. I've learned from experience to go look when Shyla marks a certain spot. On more than one occasion, I've found that she had the audacity to pee over top of a mountain lion's scrape! I guess that it's good to listen to your dog if you want to know what's been happening in the forest around you.

When Tiny returned to the most important marking tree to discover that no sows had left replies and that a BOBCAT had answered his messages, he seemed to get mad. He attacked my camera, believe it or not! The camera endured the attack but Tiny left it pointed the wrong way after he finished sniffing and clawing it.

The compilation of these videos reinforces for me the fact that fascinating animal communication is happening in the forest around us, although we usually have no idea of what is being said. You can watch the video here or at Youtube.

I still haven't captured any trail cam footage of the sow and cubs who were in "my" den this winter. Very soon, I will go peek to see if they are still near the den. If they're not, I will bring home all the footage of mom and tiny cubs from the winter and spring.

Have a Beary Happy Tuesday!

Rain, bears, and bobcats!

This early summer has been extraordinary in the sheer quantity of rain that has fallen. Usually, summer days follow a predictable pattern of sunshine in the morning and thunder storms in the afternoon. This year, it's been raining all day long, including during my morning bike ride.

Shyla doesn't seem to mind because it's so nice and cool when it's raining. However, I actually get cold during our rides. It was 48° and raining this morning. The world is soaked!

I am wondering if this crazy weather is part of the reason why the bears are having trouble finding natural food. I don't remember any other year when there were NO berries on any buffalo berry bushes in July. Usually, Buffalo Berries are a staple for our bears at this time of year. I feel so sorry for the bears.

All that I can do is keep watching the bears and learning more about their behavior. It seems that I understand them a little better each year so I can be more effective in talking with neighbors about why the bears are behaving a certain way.

For example, when I tell people that our biggest bear, Tiny, has lived in our area for at least 5 years without any complaints from people about him until this food-starved year, it seems as if they begin to understand that he's simply a hungry bear and not some vicious monster.

I believe that, as a community, we need to do everything in our power to help the bears make it through this year without being killed for bad behavior. E.g., lock down the trash, lock all house windows and doors, lock all car doors, and make birdfood and compost inaccessible to bears. Did you know that compost is poisonous to all mammals, including our dogs and bears? Leaving it unprotected is a terribly selfish act.

I feel so passionately about protecting our bears because I've been watching the bears via my trail cameras for a half a decade. It makes me feel much more empathy for them than most people.

Although bear mating season is winding down, my trail camera captured some fascinating footage of a young female bear marking a tree, and then a bobcat marking the same tree about a day later.

Bears mark trees by rubbing against them with their backs and often urinating at the same time.

Usually, bobcats mark things closer to the ground. In this photo, a bobcat is rubbing his face on the rock and ground at the base of a bear marking tree.

To my surprise, I captured footage of a bobcat marking a bear marking tree by standing on his hind legs and rubbing his face as high on the tree as he could. As you'll see in the video, a bobcat stretched himself out to be very tall to mark the same tree as the bear. I have never seen anything like this before!!!!

You can watch the video here or at Youtube.

I love learning new things about our wildlife. And, in the case of bears, knowing them better helps me to advocate for protecting them more effectively.

Fun Bear Activity

I'm taking a break from the desert stories today to tell you about springtime here in the mountains. The mountains themselves look wintery.

And the storms keep enveloping them. It's going to be mid-summer before we can hike easily up there.

But, down at our elevation, the animals are marching forward with their spring traditions. The bluebirds flit about the meadows and awe me with their brightness. And some shrubs, like the one the bluebird is perched on, are getting green leaves!

The bigger animals are getting moving too. I've seen lots of bear activity with my trail cameras recently.

It's been so much activity that I made a video of it. Here's a synopsis of what you'll see in the video.

First, a female marked a tree, and then she took a mud bath in the rain. During her bath, she rolled onto her back, and her nipples were visibly enlarged. I do believe that this sow has cubs, and we'll get to see the cubs when they get a little bigger. Usually, mother bears leave their tiny cubs high in pine trees while they go about their business. It isn't until the cubs are bigger and more agile that they will start moving around with their mother.

Then, a few days later, a big male did a bunch of marking on the main mating path in our area. I think that the male might be Milton Sr. but I'll have to see more footage before I'm certain. You can watch the video here or at Youtube.

I love springtime, even when it's filled with stormy weather. Seeing the bears go about their daily lives is simply amazing!