Pennsylvania Black Bears

Nature 2 Minutes

This is the time of the year we normally see the first black bears of the season. The forest is reviving itself after the long, snowy winter and everything is finally green again. The air is filled with the sweet, sweet smell of blossoming honeysuckle bushes…and the woods surrounding the house are filled with them. And that sweet smell will be tempting the bears to leave the higher ground and come visit our house.

honeysuckle

From the PA Game Commission’s website:

Ursus americanus is the black bear’s scientific name; it means “American bear.” Although three species of bears inhabit North America, only the black bear is found in Pennsylvania. A population estimate in 2015 showed approximately 20,000 bears living in the commonwealth. Black bears appear heavy, but are surprisingly agile; they can run up to 35 miles per hour, climb trees and swim well. They may live up to 25 years in the wild.

Black bears are intelligent and curious. Studies show that bears can see colors, recognize human forms, and notice even the slightest movement. Bears usually rely on their acute sense of smell and, to a lesser degree, hearing, to locate food and danger. Despite their common name, black bears are not always black. They may be cinnamon or, even rarer, blond. Many bears have a white blaze or “V” on their chest.

Adults usually weigh around 200 pounds, with males being heavier than females, often more than twice as much. Some weigh up to 600 or more pounds and rare individuals up to 900. Males are called boars; females, sows. Black bears measure about three feet high when on all fours or about five to seven feet tall when standing upright.

In Pennsylvania, bears mate primarily from early June to mid-July. Males are very aggressive towards each other at this time. Sows give birth in January to litters of one to five. The newborn cubs are blind, toothless, and covered with short, fine hair that seems to inadequately cover their pink skin. Cubs begin nursing immediately after birth, and are groomed and cared for daily by the sow. Nurtured with the sow’s rich milk, they grow from as light as 10 ounces at birth to as much as 10 pounds by the time they leave the den in early April. Males do not help rear young.

Most cubs stay with the sow for a little more than a year. They watch her every move and learn by imitating her. Cubs are playful, regularly romping and wrestling with their littermates. The sows are very protective of cubs, sending them up trees if danger threatens. Adult males occasionally kill cubs. The family group disbands when the cubs are about a year and a half old and the sow is again ready to breed.

We saw a lot more bears when we were first building our home. I believe the new smells and sounds piqued their curiosity. They’ve balanced precariously on the rim of our burn barrel–butt in the air–reaching down inside the barrel to nab any edible bit left there. They’ve ruined our hummingbird feeders (lesson learned there–we take them in nightly now) and even left muddy prints on the logs on the side of our home.

But they are such fun to watch, safely inside the house. Hopefully we won’t have to wait too much longer this year!

Unknown's avatar

Published by pat frederick

Published

146 thoughts on “Pennsylvania Black Bears”

  4. giloo was/is a follower here…so so sorry about your puppy!!! (posted at maricas)

    gil00
    May 31, 2022 at 4:22 pm

    My puppy just died.
    Started moaning anout 40 minutes ago.
    Called the vet who was too busy.
    She died.
    Mr Gil is going to bury her.
    Im devastated. Kiddo is crying.

    Liked by 3 people

    1. Ohhh…..that’s so hard, especially when she put her heart and soul into trying to save the poor thing! When I read the details, frankly, I expected this – especially about her being unable to even walk. IDR if giloo ever said what the pup had but I have to wonder if it was Parvo – that is often really hard on tiny puppies.

      Liked by 3 people

  6. EXCERPT: “Don’t listen to the “fear porn” and don’t be afraid of monkeypox, Dr. Robert Malone told Children’s Health Defense Chairman Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. during an interview on “RFK Jr. The Defender Podcast.”

    Malone is an mRNA vaccine expert and outspoken critic of the U.S. COVID-19 pandemic response. His book, “Lies My Gov’t Told Me and the Better Future Coming,” will be released in September.

    “We don’t have an epidemic [of monkeypox] here at all,” Malone said. “What we have is an outbreak that is easily traceable,” he said, pointing to findings that the original outbreak was traced to two events in Belgium and Spain. “There has been some fear propagated inappropriately by the press,” Malone said. He cited a CNN report he saw on TV that used legacy smallpox images “as if [they were] images of monkeypox.”

    The Gavi Vaccine Alliance, funded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, also misled the public, Malone said, when it posted a piece on monkeypox that cited a 10% mortality rate. “They were saying 1 in 10 people will die of it,” said Malone. “That is absolute fear porn.” In the same article, he pointed out, Gavi included statistics from the World Health Organization claiming monkeypox has a 3.4% mortality rate. Other estimates of mortality rate fall between 1% and 10%, a wide range.

    “I think that the term for this is ‘disinformation’ on the part of both Gavi and CNN,” said Malone. “We should be very careful to keep from allowing others to weaponize fear as a way to control or manipulate us because I think what’s happening in this case.” Monkeypox is real, and anyone who catches it does need to take precautions, Malone said. “It’s rational public health policy to do contact tracing, to find out who’s been in touch with whom,” he said.

    Kennedy pointed out that monkeypox, which spreads through close contact with an infected person, “is a very, very hard disease to catch.”

    https://childrenshealthdefense.org/defender/monkeypox-fear-porn-robert-malone-rfk-jr-podcast/

    Liked by 2 people

  7. oz vs mccormick court case started today. oz arguing that undated mail ballots should not be counted–the law says so. mccormick says a court of appeals called that law arbitrary that serves no purpose. to me, you follow the law OR change the law, but not in the middle of an election
    FTA
    McCormick sued in Pennsylvania court after the primary race to make county election boards tally undated mail-in ballots. Both candidates’ legal teams presented their cases before the Pennsylvania Commonwealth Court.

    “McCormick, citing a recent opinion from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit, says the state’s current practice of rejecting them is arbitrary and done under a rule that serves no legitimate purpose in determining the eligibility of the voter,” the Philadelphia Inquirer reported. “McCormick has generally outperformed Oz in mail voting and he hopes that counting the roughly 860 undated mail ballots statewide can help him make up his deficit.”

    The Pennsylvania Commonwealth Court has sided with the Oz campaign’s position in similar past cases, according to the outlet. “But it will be interesting to see whether the Third Circuit’s opposite stance on the issue influences its thinking going forward.”

    https://citizenfreepress.com/breaking/dr-oz-and-mccormick-court-case-begins/

    Liked by 1 person

  8. Liked by 2 people

    1. OK, this makes me feel even better, now that I think about it. By rights, with the close connections of those members of the jury AND the judge, yet Durham did not ask him to recuse himself. Durham knew this would happen, yet he allowed it to…….I’m leaning towards the optimistic read of The Federalist. He did, indeed, get it on the record that Killary directed it to be put out to the media, among many other little tidbits. No, the more I think about it, I think this is a part of Durham’s plan. I mean, it’s just too friggin’ obvious he is guilty! But hey – who the hell really knows any more???

      Liked by 2 people

      1. considering the media outlets that were reporting that hitlery did it…this is getting a lot of press–lots of people hearing about this stuff…

        Liked by 2 people

  11. I am adding a short daily prayer to the board. I would invite each of you, if you wish, to also add one or maybe two of your own liking. I do not want to stifle anyone but please limit yourself to one or two. here’s one I found that I liked.

    Liked by 2 people

Comments are closed.