We’re Going on a Bear Hunt……

After seeing the International Wolf Centre, we were very excited to be going to the Bear Centre the next day. It was also in Ely. Luckily Trev, then Flynn will share their thoughts on the Blog. Hope you enjoy reading about Bears. Cath

This gives you an indication of a Bears size.

Today we were going to see a bear! Like our hunt for a wolf, we had trecked all over the place hoping to catch sight of one. But today we knew we would get to see a real live bear at the International Bear Centre.

We packed up and left our forest camp and headed back into the town of Ely. Arriving at the centre we saw a group of people being lead up a forest track behind the building. Quickly we joined the excited group and were lead to three holding pens where they had three stunning Black Bears. We were only a couple of feet from them. They weren’t scary at all. In fact they were like big teddy bears and very tame.

Black Bears waiting to be moved to their new enclosure still under construction.

A Black Bear called Lucky

Afterwards we learnt all about bears in the centre. I was amazed to learn about an extinct American Carnivorous bear (Short Faced Bear) that stood twelve feet tall, weighs more than a ton and has long powerful running legs for running down large animals. These creatures were apparently one of the most ferocious predators of their time. Imagine camping in the forest and having a Short Face poke his nose inside your tent!

The boys watching a documentary on Bears in the Theatre Room.

The kids making paw prints with one of the volunteers.

Chayse, totally transfixed on the task at hand.

Another fact that astounded me was that the leading cause of Black Bear deaths was due to being shot. Bears can live for 30 years, yet the average lifespan is only 3.8 years. It is hunting season at the moment around Ely and everywhere you look there are hunters kitted out in camouflage gear looking for bear, moose, deer and beaver.

The Black Bear is a very placid, shy bear that has a very important role in the forest ecosystem. The inbuilt fear humans have around bears is unjust. I think our visit to the centre took away our “unfounded” fear we had of bears. They are truly unique creatures.

By Trev

Behind Chayse is the "ferocious" look that humans come to expect and fear.

Not that we have met a “Grizzly” Bear yet. But the Centre for Bears also had a section on Grizzlies and how they have often been portrayed as ferocious killers in movies.

The exhibit behind Chayse is specifically to show people how these bears are seen and why so many of us have an irrational fear. The ferocious look is one humans expect bears to ave when they are about to attack. This is however, just how movies portray the bears. Apparently the movie makers dubb the sound of a roar/growl whilst the bear’s mouth is open like this.The Centre really separated fact from fiction and as a result are really serving to educate people about all bears and how to co-exist with them. Having said that, I still wouldn’t want to run into a Grizzly in the forest!

Below is a Report on Black Bears that Flynn as researched and written. His information is from the Bear Centre and books.

Black Bears

Black bears are mostly found in Northern America.
Black bears like to live in the forest because there’s lots of trees with nuts and berries.

Black bears like to eat berries, ants, grubs, nuts, leaves, roots, carrion (dead meat), fish, dear, elk calves, garbage, fruit, vegetables and many more.

As a cub, black bears eyes are blue and when they grow up they slowly change to brown. Even though they are called “black” bears they come in many colors such as black, brown, cinnamon, grey, yellowy grey and white.
Even though black bears have razor sharp claws and teeth and look scary they are not aggressive to humans unless they are cornered,  have cubs or have been aggravated.

Black bears use there claws to climb trees and to rip tree trunks apart to get food.
Black bears hibernate from December to February.
And if you don’t now what Hibernating is, it is were the black bear goes to sleep for a long time and the black bears heart beat goes really slow.
Black bears mate from March to May.
Black bears eat most of the day getting ready for hibernation.

Even though black bears look fat and slow they are actually as fast as a baby dear and an old dear. Black bears have been known to hunt baby dear.

I can’t believe that people still hunt black bears just for trophies.
Black bears most common course of death is by people hunting them.
Hunting has been passed down for many generations but there are Bear Centers that have helped educate people about what bears are really like.

By Flynn

Hope you liked finding out more info. That takes us out of Minnesota now and into North Dakota where we made our way to the Theodore Roosevet National Park. Hope you like seeing Pioneer style villages and animals in the wild, ’cause we certainly did! See you then……