Do black bears scratch nonchalantly upon trees?
I came upon a Spruce yesterday, and while I know bears are still in their deep slumber sleeping off the hangover from last falls fermented berry juice still, it looked as if last fall a bear scratched a bit at a spruce tree. Not a lot, but it did get the sap going in the wounds. I thought it might have been where a skidder had rubbed up against the tree because that is what it looked like. Not rubbed down past the bark like a bumper tree, but maybe like a single trip past the tree where the tire chains rubbed along the trunk. But no skidder should have ever treaded there in the last 20 years.
I have seen a lot of bear tracks in the area, but was not sure if a bear sharpens its claws like my stupid cat does upon my recliner?
yes they do i dont know if its claw sharpening or not but they do scratch trees but so do the big cats if you have any in the area :)
Yep, I see bear scratching on our Birch trees and on every telephone pole along one gravel road.
I think the bear is saying this is my area and I am this big.
Jon
A bear was hit by a car at 7 pm this week. Light damage to car bear walked away . He may have been sleep walking. My friend has a telephone pole where a Big bear had scratched half of the pole away at 5 ft high ?
I came across these marks made on one of our Fir tree a few years ago.
Just a few hundred feet from the cabin. Not a great feeling.
We have seen a lot of Bear over the last few years. I have seen 6 while riding on the atv trails, 2 on our property and 2 while in my truck on the woods roads. That's a lot because we only spend a few short weeks there every year.
These have been the only marks I've found so it may not be normal behavior for Black Bears. ???
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/13635/1170/Bear_Marks.JPG)
It's just like a dog peeing on everything he can. Bears mark their territory. If a bear walks up to a tree and sees scratch marks two feet above where he can reach, he'll say out loud: "WOW!" :D.
I saw a bear do that to bunch of cedar down in a swamp one year; nice for as I needed some cedar for rustic furniture, but not so good cause the swamp is less than a quarter miles from my uncles house
What Jeff said. Bear will also use the same tree/pole, year to year, as marking posts. Every bear that comes along has to do its thing there. And, they can tell how fresh is the last scent left, at which point the "Wow" factor comes into play when it's really fresh. Smaller bears get nervous and start looking for the exit. :)
:D Yea, I should have said "WOW!" is followed by "UH OH!" :)
Quote from: Ozarker on March 11, 2016, 10:27:15 AM
What Jeff said. Bear will also use the same tree/pole, year to year, as marking posts. Every bear that comes along has to do its thing there. And, they can tell how fresh is the last scent left, at which point the "Wow" factor comes into play when it's really fresh. Smaller bears get nervous and start looking for the exit. :)
Always reminds me of a little dog marking a tire on the bottom while parked then the tire rolls over and moves the mark to the top. I wonder if that scares off the next dog when he sees how high the mark is?
Had them do it to my apple trees. Dang near killed one of them.
http://youtu.be/AihvuZiDhsg
Bibbyman,
Watching the video made my back itch. I get the urge to just back up to the door jamb and scratch too. Nice video.
We have always had a lot of bear around our place because it is so remote, but it was seldom we would see them. A few years back I got a bulldozer stuck and I had my neighbor punch through the brush onto our land and help tug me out. It was kind of wet so he made some ruts and a week later I went back and I'll be bushwacked if there was not a huge bear track in the mud where the skidder had driven.
The tree I saw scuffed up was about 400 feet from where I saw the track that is why I asked the question.
I used to go to church with the State of Maine Wildlife Biologist and he says because our area (Waldo County) was so much agriculture in 1900, but now reverted back to forests, the bears are returning. I am a sheep farmer so I am not thrilled at having more bears around, but honestly the biggest threat to sheep is Domestic Dogs, followed by Coyotes and then possibly bear.
We do have fisher, fox, bobcat (the animal and not the skidsteer) and lynx too though. If I can, I'll bring a camera and take a picture of that tree.
bears love bar oil and 80-90 gear oil if I leave bar oil hanging on the dozer and there is bears around they will bite the jug and let the oil out don't know how much they drink but I know they will lick gear oil out of a axel housing don't have pics but i have 4 witnesses :)
They have scratched every pole along this road. Right next to where I want to build a barn. That won't be a problem, do ya think?
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/10233/IMG_20160313_220808.jpg)
All the power poles on my road look like WeekendSawyer's pic, about 6-7 years ago the power company started wrapping all the poles in the county with barb wire from 4 to about 7 feet high, the one that can get above that 7ft mark, that's the one I will be looking for this fall. My wife got this one just down the road in 2011, he could get above that mark!
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/32731/100_3194~0.JPG)
Quote from: pabst79 on March 15, 2016, 05:32:52 PM
All the power poles on my road look like WeekendSawyer's pic, about 6-7 years ago the power company started wrapping all the poles in the county with barb wire from 4 to about 7 feet high, the one that can get above that 7ft mark, that's the one I will be looking for this fall. My wife got this one just down the road in 2011, he could get above that mark!
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/32731/100_3194~0.JPG)
now thats a goodun :o smiley_thumbsup
Watched a bear do this to the tree right next to my house...
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/39553/Bear_scratch.jpg)
Also made claw marks on my steps.
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/39553/Bear_marks_1.JPG)
And a little left overs in the yard...
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/39553/Bear_do_do.JPG)
He was after my bird seed.
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/39553/Bird_seed.JPG)
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/39553/Big_bear.JPG)
Nice bear,
Good photo documentary of the event.
Quote from: pabst79 on March 15, 2016, 05:32:52 PM
All the power poles on my road look like WeekendSawyer's pic, about 6-7 years ago the power company started wrapping all the poles in the county with barb wire from 4 to about 7 feet high, the one that can get above that 7ft mark, that's the one I will be looking for this fall. My wife got this one just down the road in 2011, he could get above that mark!
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/32731/100_3194~0.JPG)
:o :o nice bear that one makes 4 of the one I shot this year 200lbs how much did that one weigh
The boar weighed 490# dressed so the DNR chart showed it should have been just under 600# live weight. It was the best eating bear I've ever had. As a side note, 3 days after my wife harvested this bear, my Father and I left for Manitoba for a bear hunt, we were successful, however both our bears weighed less than the 1 my wife got. She likes to remind me often, that I traveled 650 miles to shoot a "little" bear an she gets "big one's" right in our backyard :D, I guess I can't argue.
There is a distinct advantage of having your wife take the largest animal. ;) :)
MM, yes there is wisdom in your words. :)
Quote from: Weekend_Sawyer on March 14, 2016, 02:06:04 PM
They have scratched every pole along this road. Right next to where I want to build a barn. That won't be a problem, do ya think?
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/10233/IMG_20160313_220808.jpg)
Try to scratch higher and put fresh scent down, scare em away lol worth a shot
Quote from: 4x4American on April 01, 2016, 06:48:39 AMTry to scratch higher and put fresh scent down, scare em away lol worth a shot
Jon is tall enough to scratch higher, but those pants down is more than my ........ :o
Gotta do what you gotta do! 8)