Bears in our backyard: Part Two
Editor’s note: The following is the second part of a two-part series on bear monitoring. The first installment appeared in the March 23 edition of The Star-Herald.
By Susan Feeney-Hopkins
Ashland correspondent
To see the ethical and humane way in which these animals were handled to me was perhaps the most significant observation of my day. It was clear they all respected and felt a compassion toward these creatures on such a deep level. I am truly honored to have been allowed this rare privilege to witness and interact with these magnificent creatures so intimately. The department receives many requests to visit the bear dens which proves the human inhabitants of the state have an authentic interest in them. Unfortunately most can not be realized.
Contributed photo
DREAM JOB — Ashland area newspaper correspondent Susan Feeney-Hopkins spent a day with the Maine black bear wildlife biologist and crew during their winter den visits. This bear was a healthy 3-year-old female.
“I wish I could take everyone who asks,” said Cross, “but it’s just not possible.” I was allowed this unique opportunity because of my ability to reach a larger audience through my writings. My hope is to enlighten others through my experience while garnering some well deserved respect and support for our wildlife programs. Their work is essential to the management of wildlife in Maine.
From an economic standpoint, having a healthy and manageable population of black bear enables registered Maine guides to promote their businesses and allow them to earn a living. Black bears are a viable resource for the state of Maine and one that should be utilized. The economic benefits they provide can only enhance our state and its reputation and success in the outdoor industry. Why shouldn’t hunters from around the world come to Maine for a first-class bear hunt? Why wouldn’t we want to promote wildlife viewing opportunities as other states do?
Contributed /Susan Feeney-Hopkins
WILDLIFE TECH Lisa Bates uses hand-held telemetry equipment to locate the den of a hibernating female black bear while Wildlife Biologist Randy Cross looks on. A total of 75 to 100 female bears throughout the state are currently collared.
More importantly, on the conservation end of things the Department’s ongoing study will ensure a sustainable bear population and suitable habitat so we can continue living peacefully amid the wildlife that shares our land. I don’t know about you but I love living in a place that supports wild beings living free. Too small a population and we risk losing what makes Maine wild as well as the economic resource they provide. Too great a population and we are sure to have major issues associated with the over population such as increased bear-human confrontation, disharmony amongst the populace and the starvation of many bears.
“Healthy” and “well” are two words commonly used when describing Maine’s black bear population. The Department’s overall goal and philosophy is to educate the public on the conservation and management of our wildlife. The Department’s black bear management goals are “to provide hunting, trapping and viewing opportunities.” The Maine bear population is at an estimated 27,000 animals statewide though most think this number is much higher and Cross admits the Department “is due for population reassessment.”
Contributed photo/Susan Feeney-Hopkins
FAMILY PORTRAIT — The 2011 black bear study crew poses with a black bear sow and her two (female) yearling cubs. The crew, from left, wildlife biologist Randy Cross and volunteers Mike Wheeler, Lisa Bates and Matt O’Neal, will visit the bear dens of collared female black bears through out the state in the ongoing study of Maine’s black bears.
When asked what portion of that number is congregated to Ashland and surrounding areas Cross explained “there are over two bears per square mile in the big woods and slightly less around town. However, bears are mobile, and at times, leave the woods to take advantage of food resources in and around farmlands of the County.” The Department receives an estimated 200 nuisance bear complaints annually. However, there are many more conflicts that are handled over the phone and therefore not documented.
Most of the complaints are centered around garbage/dumpsters, bird feeder raiding, bee hive destruction, crop depredation, livestock or pet predation and home and camp damage. For the most part, all are food-related. “Bears are about getting high quality food quickly,” said Cross. When they are successful, the activity is likely to continue. This often leads to dangerous situations. However, generally there have been few injuries resulting from these encounters,” he added.
Thankfully there have been very low incidence of actual bear attacks and no fatalities in the state of Maine. “I think the single factor that causes our bears to be relatively well behaved and non-aggressive is the many years of hunting pressure (around 400 years in some parts of Maine). Every hunting season hunters remove some of the most bold and aggressive bears in the population. This keeps the fear of man firmly planted in their heads,” said Cross.
The Maine black bear monitoring program is a long-term project designed to continually gather data regarding the status of our bear population. The program began as a study in 1975 and currently the Department has three active study areas in northern, north-central and eastern Maine. A total of 75 to 100 radio-collared females are monitored each year in all three study areas combined. There are 27 females currently collared in the Ashland area.
Radio collars are helpful for monitoring black bears because their secretive nature makes them difficult to observe. All of the collared females are visited each winter in their dens which allows the biologists to determine the number of cubs born. Because these cubs will stay with their mothers for 16 months and den with her the following winter, they can also determine how many cubs survive to one year of age (known as yearlings). Through their studies they “have learned a lot about bears in Maine over the last 35 years, but we are still discovering new things,” said Cross. “Each field session of data collection still reveals unexpected surprises.”
The biologists have found ways to effectively study the bears even with limited funding. Their work is made possible thanks largely to a federal tax on firearms, ammunition and other hunting-related items and hunting and fishing license sales. There are no General Fund tax dollars spent on this and other wildlife study programs. The crews in these studies generally consist of unpaid volunteers. I think many people, myself included, had no idea the Department has such limited funds being distributed to the wildlife division, nor that it relies so heavily on the dedication of its volunteers to sustain their studies.
We finished our time together enjoying our sandwiches and conversing about the program, the bears and the great outdoors. The crew then packed up their gear and moved on to make a few more den visits before sunset.
One very interesting den they would be visiting on this day was that of a sixth generation bear. “We had her great-, great-, great-grandmother wearing a collar in the early years. I was lucky to have been able to visit all six generations over the years” said Cross. To me this stands as a testimony to the importance of the program. I would like to thank Biologist Cross for allowing me this incredible opportunity. I have gained so much from the experience.
At the end of the day I was sore and tired and I loved every minute of it! And that night, I slept like a bear.
