BEAR FACTS
- All black bears in the park are black in color,
but in other parts of the country they may be brown or cinnamon.
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Black bears can be six feet in length and up to three feet high
at the shoulder.
- Females are generally smaller and weigh less
than males.
- Bears weigh eight ounces at birth and can weigh 400
pounds or more as an adult.
- Life span is generally 8 - 12 years, though "nuisance"
bears have a life expectancy of about half that time. Some park
bears have lived to be over 20.
- There are 400 to 600 bears in the park. The population density in
the park is approximately one bear per square mile.
- Eat mostly berries, nuts, animal carrion, and insect larvae
- Bears have color vision
- Bears have a keen sense of smell
- Bears are good tree climbers
- Bears swim very well
- Bears can run up to 30 miles per hour
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Great Smoky Mountains National Park is one of the few places
remaining in the eastern U. S. where black bears can live in wild,
natural surroundings. For many, this famous Smokies' resident
is a symbol of wilderness.
Black bears live at all elevations of the park. At one time,
the black bear's range included most of North America except the
extreme west coast. Because of the loss of habitat, the black
bear is now confined to wooded areas or dense brushland.
BEAR BEHAVIOR:
During spring and summer, most activity takes place during
early morning and late evening hours. Mating usually takes place
in June. Both female and male bears may have more than one mate
during the summer.
Bears choose a denning site with the coming of cold weather.
Dens are usually hollow stumps, tree cavities, or wherever there
is shelter. Bears in the Smokies are unusual in that they often
den high up off the ground inside of standing hollow trees. They
do not truly hibernate, but enter long periods of sleep. Bears
may leave the den for short periods if disturbed or during brief
warming trends.
One to five cubs are born during the mother's winter sleep.
Females with newly born cubs usually emerge from their winter
dens in late March or early April. Commonly born in pairs, the
cubs will remain with the mother for about eighteen months or
until she mates again. Mother bears are fiercely protective of
their young. Sounds of aggression include growls, snorts, blows,
and snapping of jaws.
BEARS AND YOU
The bear's keen sense of smell leads it to nuts and berries,
but the animal is also enticed by human food left on a picnic
table or offered from an outstretched hand. Feeding bears or allowing
them access to human food causes a number of problems:
* It changes the bear's behavior and causes it to lose its
instinctive fear of humans. This lack of fear causes nuisance
bears to be more unpredictable and dangerous when they encounter
humans.
* Nuisance bears damage property and injure people. In 1993,
110 bear related incidents were recorded and extensive property
damage occurred.
* It transforms wild and healthy bears into habitual beggars.
Studies have shown that nuisance bears never live as long as wild
bears. Many are hit by cars and become easy targets for poachers.
Beggar bears may die from ingesting food packaging and aggressive
nuisance bears must be destroyed by park managers.
| National Park Rangers issue citations for
improper food storage and feeding bears. These offenses can result
in fines of up to $5,000 and jail sentences lasting up to six
months. Visitors are urged to view all wildlife at a safe distance
and never to leave food or garbage unattended. |
BEAR MANAGEMENT
In many cases, habitual nuisance bears must be trapped and
relocated or destroyed. If the bears are moved soon after their
roadside begging behavior starts, they have a better chance of
returning to natural food foraging behavior. Until 1991, the park's
management policy centered on life trapping problem bears and
relocating them away from developed areas. Frequently, they returned
and had to be trapped repeatedly or removed from the park entirely.
Since 1991, wildlife managers have been experimenting with capturing,
working-up and releasing nuisance bears back into the same area.
The work-up involves tranquilizing the animal and performing a
safe medical examination on the bear. While the procedure is harmless
to the bear, it is apparently unpleasant and re-instills their
fear of humans. This approach allows bears to remain in their
home range, but they shy away from the developed areas.
In addition, bear-proof garbage cans have been replaced with
larger bear-proof dumpsters in many areas of the park. Volunteers
and park staff diligently patrol developed areas in the evenings
to watch for bears and to clean up any trash that has been left
out. Public education and law enforcement efforts have also been
emphasized. So far, the results are encouraging as the number
of bears relocated has been greatly reduced.
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Essentials For Seeing The Smokies
