Bear on the Loose

This bear is not representative of the Countryside bear.

There's a black bear on the loose around Countryside Golf Course. Knocking over trashcans and scaring good people, the bear remains on the lam.

Apparently, bears are running wild and free all over the Roanoke Valley as well. So with bear-mania in full effect, here are some bear facts for your digestion.


Kidzone
Many people often think of bears as big, ferocious creatures that are brown, black or white. Bears are much more than that. They are definitely big, and yes, they are very strong. They can be scary, but most will only become aggressive when threatened or when their babies are threatened and even then many species of bear won’t attack. Bears are solitary and quite docile animals that have been given a bad reputation. They are smart, shy and are great at hiding when they need to. There is very little information on some bears because researchers have a hard time finding them!


North American Bear Center

Intelligence: Large brain compared to body size. One of the more intelligent mammals. Navigation ability superior to humans. Excellent long-term memory. Can generalize to the simple concept level.

Running Speed: Lean bears can exceed 30 mph. Can run uphill, downhill, or on level ground. Fat bears in winter coats overheat and tire quickly.

Daily Activity Period: Most bears become active a half-hour before sunrise, take a nap or two during the day, and bed down for the night an hour or two after sunset. However, some bears are active at night to avoid people or bears.

Preferred Foods: Nuts, acorns, fruit, insects, succulent greens. Meat and less succulent greens are eaten when preferred foods are scarce. A scarcity of preferred foods can result in failed reproduction, stunted growth, failure to add optimal amounts of fat, and death of young bears, especially cubs.

Potential Longevity (lifespan): Black bears can live 21-33 years or more if they are not killed.

Causes of Death: Very few adult bears outside of national parks die of natural causes. Nearly all adult bears die from human-related causes. Most are eventually shot. A few are killed by vehicles. The average age of death in hunted populations is three to five years of age. Bears less than 17 months old sometimes die from starvation, predation, falls from trees, and other accidental causes. Very few die of disease.

Core Home Range Diameter: Typically: Yearlings: 1-2 miles. Adult females: 2-6 miles. Adult males: 8-15 miles. Excursions to 126 miles recorded.

Long-Term Problem: Magazines and movies have given black bears an unrealistically ferocious image, causing people to fear them excessively and kill them unnecessarily. There are many misconceptions about black bears.

Greatest misconception: The greatest misconception about black bears is that they are likely to attack people in defense of cubs. They are highly unlikely to do this. Black bear researchers often capture screaming cubs in the presence of bluff-charging mothers with no attacks.

Living with Bears: Many people are moving into black bear habitat. The bears' future depends on how well we understand and tolerate them.

Here's a bear to color.

Here's a Bear Movie


Stay alert. Stay safe.