Black bears – Page 2 – Syndication Server

Trail-cam footage features the derrieres of some very large bears

A wildlife photographer in Canada’s Yukon Territory has compiled video footage that shows grizzly bears and black bears wandering away from his trail cameras.

“Bear butts!” David Troup, of Yukon Wildlife Cams, wrote this month on Facebook. “[The] 2021 compilation also offers a great size comparison between grizzlies and black bears, and even a blond black bear.”

The footage shows bear butts in varying degrees of motion as the animals explore the wilderness.

It’s worth noting that Troup’s page also features footage of bears traveling toward his cameras, including a large grizzly bear that is shown charging to within feet of a camera, revealing the bruin’s awesome power and enormous claws.

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In the “Bear butts” clip, Troup told For The Win Outdoors that the footage is from three cameras and that every bear is a different animal.

“The first two are very likely a male grizzly pursuing a female,” Troup said. “I’ve got these two on a pair of cameras pointing in opposite directions the trail – so a coming-and-going perspective, though I’ve only ever shared them separately.”

Troup places motion-sensor cameras at strategic location each season and posts footage to his page sporadically throughout each year.

Woman fined $60,000 for feeding bears in ‘precedent-setting’ case

A resident of Whistler, Canada, has been fined $60,000 for attracting and feeding produce to bears throughout the summer of 2018.

A resident of Whistler, Canada, has been fined $60,000 for attracting and feeding bears throughout the 2018 summer.

The penalty levied against Zuzana Stevikova, who was sentenced last week in North Vancouver Provincial Court, is the highest imposed under the Wildlife Act in British Columbia.

Three bears that routinely visited the area were euthanized because they had become habituated as a result of illegal feeding and posed a safety threat.

ALSO ON FTW OUTDOORS: Massive grizzly bear charges within feet of trail-cam; ‘Look at those claws!’

According to a Conservation Officer Services news release, the agency launched an investigation in July 2018 after receiving an anonymous tip. Weekly purchases by Stevikova included up to 10 cases of apples, 50 pounds of carrots and 15 cases of eggs, according to the COS.

Visiting black bears exhibited no fear of humans and had become so conditioned to non-natural food that they were deemed ineligible for rehabilitation or relocation.

“The primary concern of the COS is public safety,” COS Sgt. Simon Gravel stated in the news release. “Illegally feeding or placing attractants to lure dangerous wildlife, such as bears, is an extremely dangerous activity. Once bears learn to associate humans with food, it creates a public safety risk.”

Because of the substantial penalty – most of the $60,000 will benefit the Habitat Conservation Trust Foundation – the case was described as “precedent setting.”

–Black bear images are generic

Mama bear, cub ride school playground slides; ‘Try not to smile’

A mama bear and her intrepid cub could not resist the temptation recently to climb aboard a playground apparatus and zip down its slippery slides.

A mama bear and her intrepid cub could not resist the temptation Tuesday to climb aboard a playground apparatus and zip down its slides.

“There was a little playground takeover this afternoon as teachers were leaving for the day,” reads the Facebook description by Isaac Dickson Elementary School in Asheville, N.C. “Watch the whole video and try not to smile.”

The footage, captured by Betsie Stockslager Emry, shows mama bear acting like any responsible parent, going first on the larger slide, then encouraging her cub to try the smaller slide.

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“You can do this one, honey. It’s a smaller one,” one of the teachers mimics mama bear in the video. “You can do it!”

The teachers seemed to enjoy the bears’ playtime as much as the bruins enjoyed their bonding experience, and the school assured that “all kiddos were safely inside at this time.”

Probe launched after hunters kill protected grizzly bears

A federal investigation has been launched after two grizzly bears were killed by black bear hunters last week near Great Falls, Montana.

Grizzly bears are federally protected and the investigation is being conducted by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, in cooperation with Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks.

Neither agency is offering specific details, pending results of the investigation.

However, Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks (FWP) issued a news release stating that the hunters killed one male and one female grizzly bear during the black bear season. No cubs were found.

Montana’s spring black bear hunting season ended May 31 in some regions, but continues through June 15 in other regions.

It remains unclear whether the hunters thought they were shooting at black bears, but “correct identification is critical,” FWP stated.

In Montana, hunters must pass a test to make sure they can tell the difference between the two species before they are issued hunting tags. The test consists of 15 multiple-choice questions and hunters must answer at least 12 correctly to receive a certificate of completion.

FWP noted that color and size are not clear indications. Black bears are sometimes lighter in color, and grizzly bears can look black. Grizzly bears are sometimes smaller than adult black bears.

“Grizzly bears are expanding into more places in Montana, and we are also heading outdoors in higher numbers right now, which means it is more important than ever to review bear safety and identification tips,” FWP cautioned.

–Grizzly bear images (top two) are via Wikipedia; black bear image is courtesy of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service