Berries+Bears SNP

imported
#1

Spent the last 2 weekends dayhiking in Shenandoah area. The black raspberries and blueberries are ripening. I did not feel guilty taking a few from the critters as I have never seen the blueberry bushes so loaded with berries. The tart pie cherries are also ripe in the old orchards and saw bear scat full of cherry pits. Saw 3 bears along the Knob Mountain trail west of the AT. They crashed off the trail as soon as they saw, heard, or smelled me (I do shower!) The bears in the East seem to all be coal black and smallish. Is that right? In the Sierras the black bears are just as likely to be cinnamon or blonde as black and seem bigger.

Turtle

#2

The bears here (NJ) are mostly dark colored. As far as size compared to western bears, I really don’t know…(I’ve seen some large ones, some small ones…but one thing I’ve noticed is that people frequently grossly exaggerate the size of bears they’ve seen!)
They are are all beautiful, though, regardless of size or color!

Margaret

#3

Black bears attain about the same size, east or west. Record size bears in many eastern states approach 650-700 pounds.Eastern bears are far more likely to be black, rather than cinnamon or other shades as some western black bears are. Don’t know why that is.
As far as exaggerating the size, well, at 10 feet, there’s no such thing as a SMALL bear!:tongue

Jac

#4

I’m not expert, but would the sun have anything to do with it? like how sun turns peoples hair a lighter color? There is more sun out west year round…Just a thought…i really dont know

Anthony

#5

Also there is less tress to protect the bears from the sun out west. Arn’t grizzlys meatand veggie eaters oppose to black bears who eat vegatation?..may this has something to do with their size? maybe a big breed is needed over power a food source. Then again, Im no expert…i jsut cant sleep and im bored.

Anthony

#6

My wife and I along with another couple went on a 5 day hike in the Sierras.We camped at Clark Lake on the PCT for 2 nights.The second night our 2 year old Sheltie(Lennon) started acting strange.Suddenly he took off running straight at a black bear,that was heading toward our campsite.The bear appeared to be around 300+ pounds.Lennon stopped approx 10 feet from the bear,and returned on our recall.The bear didn’t move,so Lennon went back at him a second time.This time the bear started running away.
I thought for sure that we would lose our Sheltie.
I’m sure some of you have seen a special on bears, at one time or another.Every program I’ve seen says, stay outside a 10 foot radius of the bear.Get inside that 10 feet radius,and your chances of a bear attack increases.

Bill Harris

#7

Both Black Bears and Grizzlies are omnivores and will eat anything. Black bears eat primarily veggies and insects while grizzlies diet changes depending on whats available. Both will eat garbage whenever they can. East coast black bears do tend to be smaller due to diet. In northern Labrador the barren ground black bear (a subspecies)is much smaller then ones found in the lower 48. All bears if they have not been aclimatized to humans would rather avoid them. Particularly when people are shooting at them. This explains why bears in GSMNP have no problem with letting hikers walk by them. A couple of times I had bears move off the trail about twenty feet to watch me pass. In NH its rare to get such a good look at them.

Big B

#8

It is best to avoid bears whenever you can. It is recommended that people hiking attach little bells to their shoes so the bear can hear you coming. Also, bear spray, much like pepper spray is recommended. You should also be able to identify bear scat on the trail. Black bear scat has a lot of hair and berries in it. Grizzly scat is easily recognized because of all the little bells and that strong odor of pepper spray in it…:lol

Mary

#9

I’ve read that in griz country, you should always stay at least 75 yards away. Any closer, you’re invading their territory for sure.

Bearberry