A young Black Bear using their extraordinary sense of smell takes some time stop and sniff the berries. Snowberries to be exact. He decided to pass but snowberries are an important food source for many birds in winter. Snowberries are also but considered poisonous to humans.
A little Black Bears wanders down from the hills and has their eyes set on the abundant bushes of quickly ripening choke cherries.
Happy Friday and have a wonderful weekend.
We watched as this little Black bear foraged through the forest nimbley picking Oregon Grape Berries. We did not know Bears ate these little berries but given most of the Choke Cheery bushes had been picked clean this little bear needed to find a few last meals before they retired for the winter and Oregon grape was on the menu that evening.
Making acquaintance with a relaxed and aware black bear on a rainy spring morning.
A black bear surveys the surroundings with both nose and eyes while foraging on an autumn afternoon.
A young Black Bear using their extraordinary sense of smell takes some time stop and sniff the berries. Snowberries to be exact. He decided to pass but snowberries are an important food source for many birds in winter. Snowberries are also but considered poisonous to humans.
As demonstrated by the shaded areas in the two range maps below Black Bears, which were once ubiquitous to most of North America, occupy only a small fraction of their historical range.
Due to habitat loss and other human factors Black Bears numbers are currently only a fraction of what they once were.
Historical Range:
Current Range:
Vaughan, M.R., and M.R. Pelton. 1995. Black bears in North America, pages 100-103 in E.T. LaRoe III, ed. Our Living Resources. USDI-NBS, Washington, D.C.
Imagine a time of abundance, no not not all you can eat buffets and free soda refills, but a time where animals we share the planet were more than occasional encounters.
Kuma by Jon Bedford. Photographed at the Shidoni sculpture garden near Santa Fe, NM. Every time I visit this sculpture I feel like I am visiting an old friend. A beautiful work and fun to photograph.
