Monday, September 3, 2012

Black Bear Buds

Here they come, walking down the creek
They get the funniest looks from everyone they meet

Hey, hey - it's the black bears... 

And you dang well know they're going to monkey around - with my cameras.

black bears
Brown-black and Black-black entering the previously serene scene.

black bears

black bears

black bears

black bears
Definitely siblings... :)

black bears

black bears
As they get close to the camera the flash kicks in. Is it auto-adjusting to the scene's reduced lighting, or a fear-response to the oncoming bears?

black bears
(camera) "Aaaaa!! Stay away!!" Flash. "Stay away..!!" Flash.

black bears
But they spared the camera for the moment, and went back to enjoying the creek.

black bears

black bears

black bears
Black-black off to see what sib Brown-black is up to...

black bears
And then both come back into the scene.

black bears

black bears

black bears
Uh oh. That's a serious look. Note the watercress in Black-black's mouth that gets dropped.

black bears

black bears
"Aaaaaaa!! Stay away!" Flash.

black bears
Flash.

black bears
Flash.

And that's all she wrote.

After that the camera only captured random shots of shrubs and cattle shins.

Bears. (to be said the way Seinfeld says "Newman.")

I have a feeling the above pair might be these 2 youngsters from a year ago:

bear cubs
Cam trap pic of Double-Double pair from July 18, 2011.

I think they'd grow about that much in a year, and their character seems similar.

Now that I've logged almost 2 years and 50 sets in the Tehachapi survey area, some other bear trends are starting to show in the data, too.

For the most part, the bears are following the snow pattern, going to ground around December 1st, and coming up for good by April 1st. But, as is common with black bears in California, they also pop up for the winter warm spells.

Cubs start meandering with Mama in July-August, and seem to disperse the following spring. The local standard is currently 1-2 cubs per Mom, with 2 most common.

As for population, I'd guesstimate there's a dozen to fifteen bears ranging the 10k+ acre region. The cams photographed 5 different cubs in 2011, with 3 mothers. Add the juvies and lone adults the cams also caught (bears showed at 50% of the sets), and it totals to 12-15ish.

The fur color ratio appears to be about 50/50 brown to black.

They all look healthy, too. No signs of mange, malnutrition or injury.

And, as evidenced - they aren't camera shy.

====
References:
==========

5 comments:

  1. What a great post. The scene with the two of them at the creek was sweet. I love that you were able to possibly document the same pair a year apart. And I'm *never* going to view a camera flash the same way again! I will always crack up thinking "Auuuggg, stay away. FLASH FLASH!!".

    ReplyDelete
  2. What a great post, indeed! I LOVE the cinnamon bears! You have great locations and gear...makes a girl jealous and eager to experiment. I'm going to have to share this one!

    ReplyDelete
  3. That is as close as I ever want to be to any kind of bear!! Thank You ..Awesome!

    ReplyDelete

Please leave a comment, thought or question at any time.