The Bear Rub Tree, Electric Bears and…Just Bears

Bears! It almost seems that someone is making bears and dropping them near Nelson. There are always grizzlies and black bears in the area at this time of year, but we are seeing more bears than last year. I have captured some interesting videos of black bears that I thought I’d share with you.

Bears will mark trees by standing on their hind legs against a tree, rubbing against the trees and clawing the bark just above their head. I was lucky enough to capture a black bear doing just that on a cedar tree. The bear rub tree is a place where bears communicate. Are they saying “I am here, I am this big…and how big are you?” to other bears? There are a few bears that visit the tree, as you will see in the video.

Bears will eat anything that people eat – and more! We eat chickens and bears love chickens too. The “Electric Bears” video tells a short story about a bear getting into the chicken coop, eating the chickens and what happens when the coop is protected with a predator electric fence.

And finally – just a video of bears nibbling on food and wandering by. I still like bears. I do, however, want people to stop feeding them garbage and chickens. I suspect the chickens agree.

all videos, photos and writing copyright J.A. Siderius, 2014.