Bear – Page 6 – Syndication Server

Grizzly bear trail-cam appearance both awesome and terrifying

A trail camera in Canada’s Yukon Territory has captured footage showing a large grizzly bear marking territory by standing and rubbing its back against a tree.

A trail camera in Canada’s Yukon Territory has captured video footage showing a large grizzly bear standing and rubbing its back against a tree.

But the eye-catching portion is the aftermath: the bear charging toward the camera in slow motion, its massive head lurching downward with each step as the bruin approaches within feet of the camera.

“Look at those claws!” David Troup boasted Saturday on his Yukon Wildlife Cams Facebook post. “A grizzly bear runs toward the camera in slow motion after marking a tree in early August.”

An obvious comments reads, “Can you imagine standing where the trail camera is?”

Another follower joked, “Remember, you only have to be faster than your hiking partner!”

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The footage is revealing in that it shows the bear expressing itself in a natural environment without human influence.

Researchers believe bears scratch their backs on trees as a means of communication. Male grizzly bears will sometime mark several trees while in search of breeding mates.

The rest of Troup’s footage shows the bear’s determination to keep moving and, as some of his followers observed, the awesome power in a gait that’s somehow awkward and graceful.

Troup told FTW Outdoors that he monitors 15 motion-sensor cameras in the Yukon wilderness for possible posts to showcase the region’s wildlife.

He received several comments complimenting him for his editing skills.

Troup’s reply: “Thank you! I’ve developed a pretty good system for reviewing, organizing and sharing videos so I don’t repeat the same ones.”

Hunter finds lost GoPro camera with footage taken by bear

A hunter found a GoPro camera that someone had lost months ago. He couldn’t believe what was on it.

An archery hunter from Laramie, Wyoming, found a GoPro camera last week that someone had lost months ago. He charged it up and was surprised to find footage that was actually taken by a black bear.

Dylan Schilt posted the video on Facebook. It shows the bear pawing and biting the camera. At times you can see the inside of the bear’s mouth. At other times you can see the massive claws of the bear.

“Last week when I was up archery hunting, I stumbled across a GoPro that was lost while snowmobiling,” Schilt wrote in his description. “When I got back to camp, I charged it up and couldn’t believe what I saw.

“After four months of it sitting there, a big old black bear found it and not only managed to turn it on but also started recording himself playing with it.

“Hands down the craziest thing I’ve ever found!”

Why are Yellowstone wolves biting grizzly bears’ butts?

For the second time this month a Yellowstone National Park tourist has captured footage showing a wolf biting a grizzly bear’s butt.

In the first instance, in early September, the behavior was understandable because an elk carcass was nearby, according to photographer Gary Gaston, and wolves do not willingly share with grizzlies (or vice versa).

That footage, showing the young wolf nipping the bear several times, occurred at daybreak at Crystal Creek, near Slough Creek.

On Sept. 10, six miles away in Lamar Valley, Gaston captured the accompanying footage, showing another black yearling wolf biting a grizzly bear’s butt as the bear searched for roots and grass shoots. (The bite occurs at 37 seconds.)

https://www.facebook.com/100048274508320/videos/372285284541378/

Gaston told FTW Outdoors that he believed this butt-nipping involved a different wolf, and it certainly involved a different bear.

“The yearling wolf followed the grizzly for 3-4 minutes, then it began nipping the bear’s butt,” Gaston wrote on a Yellowstone-themed Facebook page. “Why? The bear was eating roots, and didn’t seem a threat. But the wolf seemed intent on chomping bear butt. Hard to figure out these silly wolves.”

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Yellowstone National Park spokeswoman Linda Veress told FTW Outdoors that biologists have observed this behavior and believe it’s associated with competition for food or defense of a pack’s territory.

So in Gaston’s video clips both wolves are simply trying to persuade the bears to leave, and staying to the rear of the much larger bruins would seem a wise survival strategy for the smaller but quicker canines.

Both species are fierce competitors – especially when an elk or bison carcass is involved – and not friendly toward one another, as implied in the Facebook comments.

–Grizzly bear image courtesy of Yellowstone National Park

Watch: Bear cub tumbles down waterfall while salmon fishing

A bear-cam at Alaska’s Katmai National Park has captured footage of a brown bear cub tumbling over a waterfall.

Brown bears in Alaska’s Katmai National Park are terrific salmon catchers. But for cubs, wading in a swift river is a precarious task.

The accompanying footage, captured by the Explore.org Brown Bear Cam, shows a bear cub lose its footing, get swept up by the current, and tumble six feet down Brooks Falls.

Viewers can hear the muted voices of observers in awe of the spectacle, and cheering as the cub surfaces in apparent good health.

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According to Travel Guide Book, the bear is a first-year cub named Little Bean, whose mom, 909, was nearby. “All’s well that ends well, 909 retrieved her by the island,” Travel Guide Book wrote on Facebook.

Brooks Falls, on the Brooks River, is a famous fishing area for brown bears trying to fatten up before the onset of winter. Bears often hunt at the top of the waterfall and catch salmon as they attempt to leap over the falls to reach their spawning grounds upriver.

–Image and video are courtesy of Explore.org

Bear runs full speed at golfer, then reacts bizarrely to golf clubs

A British Columbia golfer was about to play a shot when a bear ran straight for him. What the bear did next was totally unexpected.

Tim Jeves was about to play a shot on the 12th hole at Swaneset Golf Course and Country Club in British Columbia when he encountered a bear running full speed straight at him, a result of an oncoming golfer in a cart startling him.

“Do I make myself big and back away or do I run?” Jeves asked himself.

“I knew I’m supposed to do the former for a cougar but couldn’t remember whatever advice I’d been given for a frightened charging bear,” Jeves told USA Today/For The Win Outdoors.

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“Honestly, I didn’t have time to really think. I won’t say I ran, but I definitely didn’t back away slowly. I was moving quickly and loudly calling out ‘Hey bear! Hey bear!’ To try to scare or slow him. It didn’t. The one thing I did do, which I later thought was stupid, was drop my club. The one thing that might have slowed him if it had come at me.”

But it didn’t follow him. Instead, it climbed a tree, allowing Jeves a chance to get his phone out and videotape its next moves, which were quite bizarre.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ku1enyb49s4

As you can see, the bear appeared to be scared of the golf clubs sitting next to the tree, prompting Jeves to label his video, “Stationary Golf Clubs [a] Worthy Adversary for Scared Bear.”

Photo courtesy of ViralHog.

Mountain biker chased by grizzly bear near site of recent attack

A mountain biker reported being chased by a grizzly bear Friday morning in northeastern Idaho.

“The bear chased the biker but did not harm the biker,” the U.S. Forest Service-Caribou-Targhee National Forest stated on Facebook.

The incident occurred in the Stamp Meadows Road area in Island Park. An Idaho Department of Fish and Game spokesman told KSL that bear tracks were discovered nearby.

The bear is believed to be a female with cubs.

In early July a man was attacked by a female grizzly bear as he jogged four miles from where Friday’s incident occurred. The victim, who did not suffer life-threatening injuries, said the bear had at least one cub.

The IDFG’s Curtis Hendricks told KSL that it was not known whether the same grizzly bear was involved in both incidents.

The U.S. Forest Service-Caribou-Targhee National Forest stated that “Bears in the Area” signs have been posted and urged bikers and hikers to exercise caution and carry bear spray.

Island Park is 28 miles southwest of West Yellowstone and the West Entrance to Yellowstone National Park.

–Grizzly bear image is generic

Mountain biker ‘extra blown away’ by bear cub encounter

Mountain biker David Smith was riding down the Skyline Trail at Snowshoe Bike Park in West Virginia on Sunday when the unexpected occurred.

Mountain biker David Smith was riding down the Skyline Trail at Snowshoe Bike Park in West Virginia on Sunday when he suddenly had unwanted company running beside him.

A couple of bear cubs came into view as he was racing down the trail. Suddenly, one bear ran off in the opposite direction while the other bear ran alongside him for several feet before bolting off in front of him to the left.

The momma bear was nowhere to be seen.

Smith captured the close encounter on video. (Strong warning about foul language.)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UgHzWGI7hE8

“My first thought was exactly what you hear me say in the video,” Smith told USA Today/For The Win Outdoors. “I was excited to see the bears, initially thinking they would just run away from me and then I was extra blown away when the one cub started running alongside me.

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“We had heard there were a lot of sightings of a momma and two cubs on that mountain in the bike park area.

“I did think I may collide with the cub, so I slowed down to try and let him safely get across the trail. I didn’t want to run the cub over at full speed and I didn’t want to get knocked over on my back or go too slowly in case the momma was coming behind me.”

Smith said he felt more excitement than fear. He figured the momma had run off with the other cub in the other direction.

“That was only the second time I’ve seen a bear in the wild and definitely the closest encounter,” he told For The Win Outdoors.

Photo courtesy of ViralHog.

Jogger runs for help after bear attacks camper

A Montana camper injured during a bear attack Saturday was rescued after receiving help from a jogger.

The incident occurred two hours after dawn at Mystic Lake in the Custer Gallatin National Forest.

According to the Gallatin Sheriff’s Office, the unidentified victim was too injured to hike out but flagged down a jogger “who was quickly able to make it to cell service and call 911.”

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The victim, after being located by LifeFlight personnel, was treated on site before being airlifted to Bozeman Deaconess Hospital.

The Associated Press reports that the person’s injuries were not considered to be life-threatening.

According to the U.S. Forest Service, improperly stored food probably attracted the bear to the camping area southwest of Bozeman. It was not immediately clear whether a black bear or grizzly bear bit the camper.

–Black bear image is generic

Minnesota bear poacher gets 15-month prison sentence

A Minnesota man was sentenced Wednesday to 15 months in prison for wildlife trafficking and poaching a 700-pound black bear while trespassing on Indian land.

A Minnesota man has been sentenced to 15 months in prison for wildlife trafficking and illegally killing a 700-pound black bear while trespassing on the Red Lake Indian Reservation.

Brett James Stimac, 41, of Brainerd, was sentenced Wednesday in St. Paul by Judge Susan Richard Nelson. Stimac, who removed the bear’s head and left the carcass to rot, also was fined $9,500, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.

Court documents show that Stimac, on Sept. 1, 2019, trespassed onto the reservation and shot the bear near a trash dump with archery gear.

He returned the next day and captured an image showing himself posing with the carcass, which he shared via social media. (Click here to view the image.)

Stimac then removed the bear’s head, which he delivered to a taxidermist outside Brainerd.

Black bears have cultural significance to the Red Lake Band of Chippewa Indians. Hunting by non-Indians is not permitted.

The investigation was conducted by the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources, the Red Lake Department of Public Safety, the Red Lake Department of Natural Resources, and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

–Black bear image atop this post is generic

Astonished birders spot bear in a nest ‘four stories’ up a tree

Birders and naturalists observing great blue herons in Ontario, Canada, were astonished Tuesday to discover that a black bear had climbed high up the narrow trunk of a tree to access a heron nest.

Birders observing great blue herons in Ontario, Canada, were surprised Tuesday to see a black bear standing in a nest more than four stories up a tree.

“How do I report this on eBird?” photographer Ken MacDonald joked on Facebook, referring to the online sightings database.

MacDonald told For The Win Outdoors that the bear must have climbed “four or five stories” to reach the nest, and while that’s impressive the bear’s motives were sadly clear.

Black bear chose one of the highest nests. Photo: Ken MacDonald

“We couldn’t see chicks in the nest that the bear was sitting in but it did seem to be nosing down into the nest and feeding,” MacDonald said. “The bear was also looking at the nest below and behind it, but it would have had to climb back down and then up another tree to get to that nest.”

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Great blue herons establish nesting colonies in treetops and adults can be fiercely defensive while fending off potential predators. But on Tuesday, as MacDonald reported, “The heronry didn’t seem quite as busy as it was earlier in the spring, perhaps for a good reason.”

Black bears are prolific climbers and among their prey items each spring are great blue heron eggs and nestlings.

Black bears sometimes prey on heron nestlings. Photo: Ken MacDonald

MacDonald said adult herons did not so much as swoop on the bear, “though all the birds in the neighborhood were silent and watchful.

“We wondered if some adults might attack the bear as it made its descent but we weren’t able to hang around long enough to see that.”

MacDonald said the bear, being well-fed, might have been content to remain in the nest into or through the night.

The heron nesting colony is in Ontario’s Severn township. The photos appeared on the Midland-Penetanguishene Field Naturalists
Facebook page.