New Year Slide Show Presentation coming soon In 2010 !
Educating the general public;We are in this all together!
One of the reasons bears get into so much trouble is because it is typically food related-so everyone out there:

1.        Put the bird feeders away.
2.        Campers please do not feed the bears-it will only hurt them in the long run.
3.        No one should leave garbage or even mulch/compost with food by products out-a bear will travel long and hard for the smells of food-if a bear approaches you- make noise and whatever you have to do to spook them away. Bears are opportunist and they may come back -if they did not get negative feedback the first time around- odds are they will return.Sometimes bears just have a tough animality no matter what you do"even when you try to do everything right" They are an extremely intelligent mammal.
4.        Everyone out there just do the best you can! and try to prevent close encounters with this incredible species. They are typically solitude and prefer to not go where people are, as habitat disappears more bears will be seen-we need to learn to live with them and at the same time prevent them from becoming a nuisance.
5. We are in this all together it may be complicated at times and we will all continuously learn-Time gives so many answers to so so many questions.The bears are out their to be admired, some may refer to them as mystical and even ghosts that stroll through the forest floor-Their shadows are seldom to be seen-as we encroach on their territory there will be more encounters.“Bears need their space” It is up to us to give them that. They leave so much to the imagination-And this will be a journey for the bears and I-you do the best you can and never stop learning from one another. "Don't ever underestimate them"

                                                                -Dawn Brown

Bear cub swimming,and cub/yearling below

"Bear Rehabilitation"

Maine bears being monitored in the wild

2006,2007,2008,2009, Bear Den Summaries; from Biologist Randy Cross & Bear Crew.

INLAND FISHERIES & WILDLIFE

To:Jennifer Vashon

From: Randy Cross

Date: April 4, 2006

Subject: 2006 Bear Den Summary

The 2006 den crew included Kendall Marden, David Pert, and myself. Snow depths were very low in all three study areas and temperatures were also generally warmer than usual. Rains and floods occurred in December, mid-January, and early February with a short period of extreme cold in late February/early March.

Bradford Study Area

In the Bradford Study Area, we visited and attempted to capture bears in 26 dens (8 solo, 9 yearling, and 9 cub dens). One collar (from 1706) was recovered as a premature leather failure. We handled 16 yearlings (6F, 10M; average weight = 51.2 lbs.), and 16 cubs (9F, 7M). Ten of the first 13 bears that we attempted to capture in this study area ran, with a total of 25 runs on 34 attempts. We failed to capture 7 adults (1099, 1784, 1907, 1919, 2221 (solo), 2225, and 2233), despite numerous attempts to do so. We also did not handle 2223’s two cubs after she left the nest, for fear of causing abandonment.We recorded some impressive weights in this study area, with yearlings averaging more than they have since 1999. We also saw a 128 lb. 3-year old and a 4-year old that weighed 168 lbs. Cub survival in this study area was 100% (12/12) for known litters.Two females lost their entire litter of cubs during the denning period. ID1099 lost or left her litter (we heard them in her den in late Jan) and 1881 had no cubs in her den, despite obvious signs of having nursed cubs earlier. ID1784 abandoned young cubs (under 2 lbs.) on February 2^nd. We revived her 2 nearly-frozen female cubs and gave them to Dawn Brown. At 13 lbs on March 24^th, they will be the first to be rehabbed in the Browns’ new large outdoor enclosure.ID1881 reused her '04 den site and 2225’s original den showed signs of use in previous years. We used hounds in late March, attempting to capture 2225 and 1919 with no success.

Downeast Study Area

In the Downeast Study Area, we visited 13 dens (4 solo, 7 yearling, and 2 cub dens). We handled only 6 yearlings (3F, 3M) and 5 cubs (3F, 2M) in 2 litters. We failed to capture 6 adults (2106, 2135, 3137, 2145, 2157, and 2158) and 6 yearlings (4F, 1M, 1 unk). We made at least 2 attempts to capture most of these bears. The collar of ID2106 stopped transmitting between late December, when her location was flagged and February 8 when we attempted to capture her. Due to our general lack of success capturing these bears, we tried a night stalk of 2114 in the predawn darkness. This attempt was successful and may be a valuable technique to improve capture efficiency of high risk individuals in the future. This was our first opportunity to measure yearling weights in this new study area. In sharp contrast to the other 2 areas, yearling weights were relatively low at 36.9 lbs. Cub survival also appeared low (12/19, 63%) but may be conservative due to the lack of tracking snow. Some separations may have occurred on our first attempts with no snow. A Downeast Rivers Land Trust worker (Darren Kelley) located a denned bear in North Cherryfield (about 14 miles south of the study area line). This bear turned out to be a young female (70 lbs.). We intended to remove the collar on 2137 in Machiasport and decided to collar this (much closer) future surrogate mother candidate. Unfortunately, 2137 escaped capture and will persist as long as her collar’s leather and battery holds up. We deployed a Lotek GPS collar on ID2144 (a 13-year old). This will provide data on den emergence this spring and den entry next fall, as well as potential beechnut/ blueberry barren use in this relatively unknown study area.

Spectacle Pond Study Area

In the Spectacle Pond Study Area, we visited 23 dens (10 solo, 3 yearling, and 10 cub dens). We handled 4 yearlings (2F, 2M) and 20 cubs (9F, 11M). Yearling weights averaged 52 lbs., which is the highest ever recorded for this study area (next highest in the last 12 years was last year at 32 lbs.). Strangely, the four 2-year old bears also averaged 52 lbs. in weight; these bears each gained just 4 lbs., except 2097 (30-88 lbs).

We deployed a Lotek GPS collar on ID1847 who had litters 3 years in a row (a lone male cub). One bear (ID1889) showed evidence of losing her entire litter prior to our visit. There may have been partial litter losses as well from the more exposed dens, as we saw 3 litters of only a single cub in this study area. A subadult female (2010) was lost unexplainably during cub season. ID2005 reused her '04 cub den with cubs again.

Summary

We handled 119 bears in 53 dens. We attempted to capture bears in 62 different dens (a total of 79 attempts). We failed to capture 13 adults, 7 yearlings, and 2 cubs. To offer some perspective, in the last 24 years, we failed to capture only 47 bears (mostly yearlings) for an average of less than 2 per year.

The strange weather patterns we saw may have also impacted newborn cub survival, as we saw evidence of whole litter losses in each study area, along with some unexpected smaller litters. Snow depths never exceeded ankle deep in either of the 2 southern study areas.

We captured and handled 26 yearlings (11F, 15M) and 41 cubs in 19 litters (21F, 20M; 2.16 cubs/litter). Overall, cub survival for last year was relatively high at 77.8%.

We finished the season with 71 active collars (32 Bradford, 24 Spec., 15 DE). Rita Seger continued her investigation of bone metabolism, collecting blood samples and x-rays. Rita accompanied us to most of the dens with the exception of the first trip to Spectacle Pond (we collected blood samples). Rita collected blood from 61 bears and x-rayed more than 50 bears. We collected 70 hair samples from adults and yearlings, and 30 earplugs from cubs.

As in the past, we hosted guests (188 guests over 25 days) including groups from College of the Atlantic, Unity College, University of Maine, Downeast Rivers Land Trust, International Paper, Maine Guides (North Maine Woods Bear Hunt Improvement Council), and other key landowners and foresters.

Memorandum To: Jennifer Vashon From: Randy Cross Date: April 3, 2007

Subject: 2007 Bear Den Summary. The 2007 den crew included myself, Kendall Marden, David Pert, and Eric Rudolph. Snow depths were generally low in all 3 study areas, although temps were generally colder than normal from mid-January through mid-March with no major thaws or rainfall until late March. We worked many days in subzero wind chill. Noisy, crusty conditions plagued us late in the winter in the 2 southern study areas. Bradford Study AreaIn the BSA, we visited and attempted to capture bears in 27 dens (9 solo, 5 yearling, and 13 cub dens). We recorded 12 yearlings (handled 9 of these; 6F, 3M) ( avg wt. = 50.4 lbs). We recorded 29 cubs in 13 litters (14F, 13M + 2 unk). One litter was not handled or sexed (1980) for fear of causing abandonment. Many impressive weights were recorded in all age classes, eg. 78 lb. female yearling (new SA record); cub weights averaged 40% higher than last year; another 3 year old birth (only third time in history of study). Cub survival was excellent as well at 86% (12/14). Many bears ran from their dens and 6 adults (1928, 1943, 1980, 2233, 2245, 2265) and 3 yearlings escaped capture.Two bears were injured during the summer period (1881, 2244). We were able to locate 1717 and her yearlings despite the pilot’s failure to do so. We may attempt capture of 2233 and her yearling with hounds later in the spring. The leather insert in 1164’s collar failed but the collar was found in the bedding of her nest. Downeast Study AreaIn the DESA, we visited 24 dens (10 solo, 2 yearling, and 12 cub dens). All 3 cubs from our only known 06 litter survived (2129's). We were able to capture only one yearling out of five in the two yearling dens (2115's 2 yearlings were not handled as cubs in 06). ID 2129's female yearling weighed an impressive 60 lbs and all 4 of the escaped yearlings appeared to be of similar size. We recorded 28 cubs in 12 litters (14F, 14M). We didn’t handle 2 litters (2106, 2114) (sexed only) to facilitate the mother's quick return to the nest. We also handled one male orphan cub from Patten who had been placed in the den with 2137 on January 24^th. Reproductive synchrony continues to remain strong in this study area (most cubs are born on odd years). We handled five 2-year old bears that all showed impressive weight gains as well. A prime example is 2184 who weighed 24 lbs when last handled on June 16; she weighed 90 lbs on January 24 after a couple months in the den. She also sported the first successful ear tag transmitter deployment.We failed to capture 6 adults (2106, 2114, 2115, 2159, 2319, 2349) and 4 yearlings in this study area. One collar was recovered that had been slipped (2268). Also, we lost contact with 2339 and failed to find her in a search. We redeployed a GPS collar on 2144 who had 4 cubs this spring. Spectacle Pond Study AreaIn the SPSA, we visited 18 dens (5 solo, 6 yearling, and 7 cub dens). We handled 9 yearlings (5F, 4M) and 14 cubs (4F, 10M). In addition to these cubs, we did not handle ID 2022 and her cubs as she was denned 35 feet up in a hollowed out portion of a sugar maple. We certainly could have successfully handled this litter but felt it wasn’t worth the risk and expense. We'll trust our fate to the leather insert and our trapping team this spring.We placed orphan yearling (2270) in a den box in T10R8 on February 8^th and opened the door on March 23^rd. She has a radio collar and we will monitor the success of this rehabilitation.During 33 years of research in this study area, we have not seen weights in the dens as high as we recorded this year. Eight of the 9 yearlings handled make the top 10 yearling weights in the history of this study area (the other 2 were from ’05). These include a new study area record 78 lb male. The average weight of the yearlings (64 lbs) breaks the record established last year (52 lbs) and is more than double the avg from 96-04 (26.7 lbs). Cub survival was also high at 82% (9/11) with only 1 whole litter loss (2007's). SummaryWe handled 146 bears from 57 dens. We attempted to capture bears from 69 dens, failing to capture 13 adults, 7 yearlings and one litter of cubs. We fired tranquilizer darts a total of 48 times during these capture attempts. We successfully handled 20 yearlings (13F, 7M) and 72 cubs in 31 litters (32F, 38M + 2unk ; 2.29 cubs/litter). Overall, cub survival continues to be excellent at 85.7% (24/28). We finish the season with 82 active collars (33 Brad, 23 Spec, 26 DE) with 12 of these being yearlings (includes orphan).Yearling weights in the den are likely the most sensitive measure available of the relative abundance and quality of natural foods during the previous year . New record yearling weights were recorded in each of the 3 SA’s as well as hefty weights from all age classes including cubs. These data suggest that the bears in Maine enjoyed a remarkable “summer of plenty” during 2006, especially in northern Maine where it may be the best food conditions the bears have experienced in a third of a century.We continue to cooperate with Dr Rita Seger in her study of bone metabolism. Rita supported us generously by paying for 2 contracts and more. We collected many samples including 149 x-rays of 73 bears, 986 ml of blood from 60 bears, 76 hair samples, foot pad samples from 58 bears, ear plugs from 58 cubs, 29 oral swabs and 16 fecal swabs.As in the past, we hosted many guests (214 guests on 24 days) including groups from colleges (COA, Unity, Bowdoin, UM), University professors, volunteers, generous camp owners and members of Fish and Wildlife legislative committee. Dr Krausse from URI continued to film and photograph and Carl Walsh from Yankee Magazine accompanied us during cub work at Spec Pd .

Memorandum To: Jennifer Vashon From: Randy Cross

Date: April 1, 2008

Subject: 2008 Bear Den Summary The 2008 den crew included myself, contractors Kendall Marden and David Pert, and volunteer, Dominic Grenier, from Quebec. Snow depths were higher than average this winter in all 3 study areas. However, crusts allowed for generally easy travel conditions (for us - and the bears, when they chose to run from us). We pulled collars from bears in Spec in mid-Dec and early January (5 dens) and began working regularly on Jan 10 just at the end of an extensive thaw (Jan. 6-12) (temps up to 50⁰ with some rain). We finished the season on March 25 at Spec Pond after the coldest week of cub work in my career. This included sleet, a blizzard with very high winds for 3 1/2 days, and temps of -13⁰and -20⁰ on the mornings of March 24th and 25th. The entire crew was sick with colds during most of this trip. Bradford Study AreaIn the BSA, we visited 28 dens (14 solo, 6 yearling, and 8 cub dens). We handled 15 yearlings (7F, 8M; avg. wt. = 56.5 lbs) and 20 cubs (8F, 12M). Cub survival was low at 65% (15/23) with 4 whole litter losses (all first litters) accounting for 6 of 8 cubs not present as yearlings. Two solo bears escaped capture (1980, 2241) and one cub mother (2245) who returned to her cubs after being syringe-poled and darted with no effects. One male yearling weighed a new record 96 lbs. This male was part of a litter of 4 yearlings whose aggregate weight was 281 lbs. This large ground nest contained over 500 lbs. of bear including the mother’s weight of 225 lbs.A male cub was accidentally swatted by its mother (2221) as she was injected. Despite appearing nearly lifeless for about 2 hours, this cub recovered well and after a night at the Veazie Vet Hospital was placed with a surrogate mother (1925) the following day. Downeast Study AreaIn the DESA, we visited 21 dens (6 solo, 7 yearling, and 8 cub dens). We handled 13 yearlings (7F, 6M) and 20 cubs (9F, 11M). The average yearling weight of 37.3 lbs is similar to the 2006 weights here, but lower than we have seen in the other 2 SA's for the last few years. After removing dens affected by orphan introduction, cub survival was relatively low as well at 67% (10/15). This year’s cub production appears quite high for an even year in this SA (only 3 litters in ’06 and 1 in 04). We failed to capture 2 cub mothers (2145 and 2319) who both returned to their cubs. We had intended to remove 2145’s collar.On May 18, 2007, we treed 2348’s 2 cubs with hounds. We fashioned an expandable collar and placed it on the 12 lb. male cub. This bear carried the collar to the den and had plenty of neck room on the collar at 50 lbs. We tested the battery life guarantee on a Lotek GPS collar placed on 2144. This collar quit transmitting the night after we removed if from her. We had riveted an ear tag transmitter to the package as a safeguard (not willing to risk a $3,000 package to save $12/month in battery life). This transmitter would have allowed us to recover this expensive unit even if we had scheduled the den visit a day later. New camp owner, Doug Randall, has been very gracious in allowing us to continue using his camp in Beddington as a base of operations. Spectacle Pond Study AreaIn the SPSA, we visited 42 dens (21 solo, 9 yearling, and 12 cub dens). One of the solo dens was a 258 lb. pregnant female (2436) handled on Dec. 12 in Presque Isle. We handled 16 yearlings (7F, 9M; avg. wt. = 42.7 lbs.) and 28 cubs (9F, 19M). Yearling weights might not be directly comparable to other years as one of these dens was visited on December 13 (2 yearlings) and four were in late March (7 yearlings). Cub survival was quite good at 83.3% (10/12 – one of the 2 missing cubs was harvested by a bait hunter). The preponderance of male cubs (more than 2:1) is curious. Cub production on even years here is no longer the occasional exception as it was for at least 20 years through the 80s and 90s.We deployed 14 Sirtrack GPS collars (and 1 Lotek) in an effort to estimate the density of females in a portion of the study area (this was last done in 89). ID 2464 had 3 large cubs and weighed 180 lbs. on February 21 after sustaining a serious trap injury on June 26, 2007. Remarkable weights include: ID 969 at 215 lbs. on March 21 with a yearling in her den, and 23-year old, 2003 at 226 lbs. on February 22. Our work here was compounded by having to dig through 6-8 feet of snow to reach the den entrances. Finding and exposing the entrance often took longer than handling the bears inside. Despite this, we completed 24 dens (52 bears) in 7 days in late March including travel up and back. SummaryWe handled 199 bears from 91 dens. Five adults escaped handling. We handled 43 yearlings (21F, 22M) and 68 cubs (26F, 42M; 2.43 cubs/litter). There were no 4-cub litters and only one single-cub litter this year. Cub survival was slightly lower than recent years at 70.0% (35/50). Yearling weights averaged 46.9 lbs. in all 3 study areas combined. We weighed a total of 2016 lbs of yearling bears.In an effort to reduce collar costs, we placed many collars with minimal battery life (less than 14 months left) on 16 bears (7 Spec Pond, 5 Bradford, 4 Downeast). These were deployed with magnets attached loosely with elastic bands in hopes of saving a month or more of battery life.We removed 11 collars from adults (8 in Spec Pond – 2003, 2007, 2022, 2251, 2436, 2444, 2464, and 2470; 2 Downeast – 2339 and 2426; and 1 in Bradford – 2310). In addition to these, we chose not to collar 6 yearlings (3 in Spec Pond, 1 in Downeast, and 2 in Bradford). Two bears escaped that we had planned to pull collars from (2145 and 2241) neither of which will likely be on the air next year. These bears were all denned outside of our study area boundaries. We now have 96 active collars (38 Spec Pond, 32 Bradford, and 26 Downeast) including 15 yearlings and 6 bears with 2-year old leather segments.We hosted only 131 guests on 17 days including groups from colleges (UM-23, Unity-23) and legislators from the Fish and Wildlife Committee (24). Media included 3 small outdoor cable shows , the newspaper, Village Soup from Camden, and a freelance photographer from Presque Isle.Two bears reused dens from past years. ID 1847 reused her den in a hollow cedar from 3 years ago and 2214 reused her den from last year. In all, we weighed 13,848 lbs of bear during the winter. 2009 Winter Bear Den Visits The 2009 bear den crew led by Randy Cross included contractors David Pert, Lisa Bates and Eric Rudolph, and volunteer, Kelly Young initiated field work late December and finished on March 23. Snow conditions were excellent through most of the winter. Noisy crusts (making it difficult to approach dens) were not an issue until late February as there was no January thaw. This work is conducted in three study areas spread across the bear range in the state. Radiocollared female bears in each study area are meant to represent bears in specific regions of the state living in similar habitat conditions.The crew visited 91 dens this winter handling a total of 207 bears. Three adults and one yearling escaped capture by running from their dens. The crew captured and handled 88 adult females, 27 yearlings (12 Female, 15 Male) and 92 cubs (40F, 52M; cub productivity was 2.24 cubs/litter). Among the 41 cub litters, there were three 4-cub litters, nine 3-cub litters, twenty four 2-cub litters and five single-cub litters this year. The survival rate for cubs born last winter was near the long term average at 67.5% (27/40). Yearling weights averaged 52 lbs. in all 3 study areas combined, which is higher than most years, indicating a strong food year last summer. This year, a relatively high percentage of litters (42%) were born to mothers who had never had cubs before (6/10 in Spectacle Pond study area, 5/13 in Bradford study area and 7/20 in Downeast study area). These younger mothers range from 4-6 years old. Their "first litters" tend to be smaller in number (one or two, usually) and their cubs have a lower chance of survival compared to those born to older, more experienced mothers. The fate of these cubs will be measured next winter as the survivors spend the following winter in their mother's dens so they may be counted. There are now 94 active radio collars on female bears in the three study areas (31 Spectacle Pond, 26 Bradford, and 37 Downeast) including 6 yearlings.

Fifteen GPS collars and one satellite collar was successfully deployed on females in the northern portion of the Downeast study area in an effort to establish a density estimate for the study area. These collars will record an average of around 600 locations for each bear next summer. When the collars are recovered next winter, the locations stored in them will allow the relative population density to be established for this young study area which was initiated in 2004 and represents bears living in eastern Wildlife Management Districts.

Randy Cross, Wildlife Biologist, Mammal Group

2009 Trapping Season Summary

The 2009 trapping crew included myself with contractors, Dan Wagner, Lisa Bates and Brandon Coones and volunteers, Kelly Young, Andrew Ocampo and Stephen Dancho.

We began tending snares on May 20 and continued 40 days to June 28. We set traps at 71 sites, 27 in Lagrange (30 caps), 28 in Edinburg (29 caps) and 16 in Howland (15 caps)(2964 snare nights- 40.05 SN/cap). We confined all of our trapping effort to the NE corner of the study area in preparation for GPS deployment next winter as part of our ongoing effort to recalculate study area densities in all 3 study areas. The area trapped represents approximately 86 square kilometers (less than 18 sq miles). This study area was last trapped in 05.

Snares were tripped 231 times resulting in 74 captures of bears (47M/27F), one moose and one porcupine. We captured 41 different bears (27M/14F), of which 23 were new bears to the study(18M/5F).Two cubs and 9 yearlings were captured.

We placed radiocollars on 9 females and one unmarked cub ending the season with 34 active collars in the study area. We hope the cub's collar will lead us to his mother's den and his siblings. Two of these 10 collars were GPS collars. Four young females were captured and collared that we had lost contact with. Once again, of the 12 collared females known to inhabit the area that was trapped, only 5 were captured (42%).

We captured both yearlings of 1925 who was alone in her 09 den as well as all 3 of 1784's cubs from 07 (she slipped her collar in spring of 07). These 5 bears are examples of the conservative nature of our cub survival estimates derived from counts of yearlings in the dens.

Every trapping session is unique in various ways. We were able to place 6 collars in the first 6 days with only 4 more during the final 34 days of trapping. Unlike many years when we capture many lactating females and large males near the end of June, this year we captured only one lactating female and only one male over 300 lbs during the entire trapping period. We had made 67 captures at the 30 day mark (6-18) when the skies opened up with nearly continual rain over the last 10 days providing only 7 more captures.

We hosted 43 guests on 22 days including film crews from Outfitter TV, MDIF&W (Nescom) and Frank Grant.

Randy Cross, Wildlife Biologist, Mammal Group

Maine's Black Bear

Monitoring Program

By Randy Cross

Bear Biologist The Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife (MDIFW) is charged with managing Maine's abundant wildlife resources. One of our most celebrated and treasured animals is the black bear. Although many people enjoy black bears, too many bears can create problems for the bears and the people who live with them. Black bear management is a balancing act between maintaining a healthy and abundant population for all to enjoy, and limiting the growth of the bear population so that bear nuisance problems do not cross the line of public tolerance. A big part of managing bear nuisance problems involves modifying human behavior to lessen the number of negative bear/human interactions. This may include advice on taking in bird feeders, handling outside trash, and how to prevent damage to agricultural crops. Each fall, bear hunters enter the Maine woods in hopes of harvesting a black bear. These hunters and the rules that control their methods are the tools that managers use to ensure the bear population is not over harvested and to keep the bear population from "crossing the line". How do biologists determine the proper number of animals to harvest? The first part of any management program is to have clear goals and objectives. Our management goals and objectives are set by interested members of the public that have reviewed and discussed the latest MDIFW bear assessment at Public Working Group meetings. These goals are set about every 15 years. Our current management goal for bears is to provide hunting, trapping, and viewing opportunity for bears. Our population objective is to stabilize the bear population (no significant increase or decrease in numbers) through traditional hunting and trapping activities. In order to maintain a stable bear population, we must have a good understanding of the number of bears entering the population (recruitment) to replace losses. While the number of bears harvested by hunters each year is known, the number dying from other causes and the numbers entering the population must be determined by our research. The Maine black bear monitoring program is a long-term project designed to continually gather data regarding the status of our bear population. The program began as a study in 1975 when Roy Hughie established 2 study areas consisting of 4 townships each - Spectacle Pond (20 miles West of Ashland) and Stacyville (near Patten). Roy compared population characteristics of the bears living in these 2 study areas for his PhD. At that time, the Spectacle Pond area was lightly hunted; whereas, bears in the Stacyville area experienced heavy hunting pressure. Today, hunting pressure is more evenly distributed across the bears' range in Maine. In 1982, the Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife took over Roy's project and established a new study area near Bradford, north of Old Town. The Department also changed the focus of the project by using the radio collared females in each study area to represent bears across the state that are living in similar habitat conditions to that study area. For example, if we found that our radio collared females in our study area in the northern commercial forest were particularly successful in raising their cubs in a given year, then we would assume that other females living in the northern commercial forest were also very successful. Currently, we have study areas near Spectacle Pond, Bradford, and Beddington. In 2004, the Stacyville study area was discontinued and a new study area was created in Downeast Maine, northeast of Beddington. This study area was established to address a longstanding need to better represent a portion of Maine's bear population in eastern Maine living under habitat conditions not well represented by the other 2 existing study areas. In all 3 study areas, a total of between 60 and 90 radio collared female bears are monitored each year. Radio Collars are needed to monitor black bears because their secretive nature makes them difficult to observe. Radio Collars send out a signal revealing each bear's location in her den as she hibernates under the winter snow. All of our radio collared bears are visited each winter in their dens, which allows us to determine the number of cubs born. Because these cubs stay with their mother for 16 months and den with her the following winter, we can also determine how many cubs survive to one year of age (known as yearlings). We tag the ears of all cubs and yearlings to identify them. Female yearlings are equipped with radio collars, which allow us to follow them throughout their lives. We have found marked differences in reproduction, survival, and recruitment between study areas as well as within study areas over time while habitat conditions change. The variables that cause these differences are many and complicated and are not easy to predict, measure, or even identify. Nutrition plays a major role in determining the number of cubs that are produced, and cub survival through their first year. Bears in Maine utilize a wide assortment of natural foods, and the food types in each study area are quite different. Traditionally, beechnut production has been linked to cub production in northern Maine, but these nuts are less important in central areas of the state and have been less reliable in recent years up north. The abundance of many types of bear foods are affected by weather, which makes predicting the food supply and cub production difficult from year-to-year. Although closely tracking food production would help us explain year-to-year variations in cub production and survival, limited funding only allows us to directly measure cub production and survival during our winter den visits. Forestry practices are continually evolving, which changes the world the bears live in and the food they depend on. Forestland ownership and market conditions are constantly changing as well, which also impacts forest resource management. Unforeseen disease or insect outbreaks may influence forest composition and harvest strategies. Thus, the general nature of the forests of northern Maine are very different now than they were years ago, and they most likely will be different in years to come. The combined effects of all these complex variables on bears are most easily measured by continually monitoring the bears' successes and failures directly in their dens. A large part of our bear monitoring program involves trapping and radio collaring bears in late spring and early summer. Trapping bears with foot-snares allows us to collar new bears to replace collared bears that have died or that have been lost due to malfunctioning collars. Periodic trapping efforts are necessary to maintain a representative sample of bears in each study area. We ear-tag many males while trapping and in the dens as well. Because males often damage their ears while fighting, we also tattoo their inner lip for a permanent mark. These marked males offer additional information regarding their movements when they are re-encountered through hunter harvest, roadkill or our own trapping efforts. We have learned a lot about bears in Maine over the last 33 years, but we are still discovering new things. Each field season of data collection still reveals unexpected surprises. The Department's bear monitoring program is an ongoing source of information providing biologists with the information necessary to properly manage this valuable wildlife resource. It is "our finger on the pulse of the bear population".

This work is possible thanks to a federal tax on firearms, ammunition and other hunting related items. The funds from this federal tax (known as Pittman-Robertson funds) pays for 75% of the cost. The remaining 25% comes primarily from hunting and fishing license sales.

Maine Black Bear IQ Test

1) About how many deer are there for every black bear in Maine?

A 3 B 15 C 50 D 150

2) Which hunting method accounts for the greatest portion of the annual bear harvest?

A Deer hunters (incidental) B Bait C Hounds D Traps

3) Which hunting method accounts for the second highest portion of the harvest?

A Traps B Hounds C Bait D Deer hunters

4) The overall success rate for bear hunters in Maine while using bait is about...

A 10% B 30% C 60% D 90%

5) Which of the following best describes a Maine black bear's diet?

A Fish and Meat B Green Vegetation, Berries, Nuts and Ants C Meat D Berries

6) The portion of a Maine bear's diet that is made up of vegetable matter is about...

A 99% B 80% C 40% D 10%

7) The black bear's greatest natural predator in Maine is...

A Coyotes B Larger Bears C Moose D Bobcats

8) Bear cubs are born in which month in Maine?

A September B January C March D May or June

9) A newborn black bear cub weighs about...

A 3 ounces B 14 ounces C 5 pounds D 10 pounds

10) A large adult female bear in Maine would weigh about how much in the fall?

A 100 pounds B 250 pounds C 500 pounds D 800 lbs

11) A hunter could shoot as many bears as they wanted in Maine before...

A 1981 B 1969 C 1943 D 1909

12) Female black bears in Maine begin producing cubs at which age?

A 12 years old B 5 years old C 2 years old D 1 year old

13) Bear cubs stay with their mothers about how long in Maine?

A 6 months B 16 months C 2 ½ years D 3-5 years

14) How much does a bear in Maine weigh when it is 1 year old?

A 80-105 pounds B 30-50 pounds C 9-18 pounds D 6-9 pounds

TRUE or FALSE

15) The meat from black bears is very poor in quality and not often consumed by hunters.

16) Adult female black bears normally produce 1-3 cubs each year.

17) Black bears are strong smelling animals and are often smelled before seen.

18) Female black bears are larger than males on average.

19) Black bears are naturally aggressive and pose a threat to any human they encounter.

20) Black bears can only climb trees when they are young.

21) Black bears are slow and awkward runners and can easily be outrun by most people.

22) A black bear has very little chance of escaping a hunter with well-trained hounds.

23) Although much time is spent apart, Black bears mate for life.

24) Bears in Maine spend the winter in a very deep sleep and are not easily aroused.

25) After mating, adult males and females often share the same den through the winter.

26) Bears will leave the winter den periodically to get water or to urinate or defecate.

27) Bear dens are easily recognized by a column of steam rising from them on cold days.

28) Bears obtain nourishment from sucking their paws during hibernation.

29) A bear gall bladder is worth hundreds of dollars fueling a poaching problem in ME.

30) Since bears "hoot" there presence is easily determined in the summer.

Quiz answers are : All B and All False.