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Bears out of hibernation
Recently emailed with a friend who lives a short distance from my family hunting camp in north central Pa. She had to bring a bird feeder inside due to bears tearing it down. Has anyone known of bears to be out of hibernation this early? More important, what food would be available this time of year?
We do not view the world as it is, but as we perceive it to be.
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As to food ... bears will stroll in anywhere they smell something that might be a free meal from camp grounds to break rooms.
- George Orwell
By that I mean in late fall early winter if they are gaining more calories than burning off.
They will come out early as well if it is advantageous not necessarily stay out.
Just on a side note our woods are pretty devoid of food bad mast crop last year
This spring should be interesting with lots of bears and little food
Without that, they'll stay active as long as food is available.
In Virginia, bears never truly hibernate. But they may become inactive during cold snaps.
Some of the largest bears on record in the U.S. come from the Dismal Swamp in N. E. Virginia.
I'm sure that the bears in Pa. had run out of natural foods and had become conditioned to the food provided by humans.
Another reason for controlled hunting.
Jim
My bad!!
The Great Dismal Swamp is in S.E. Virginia and N.E. North Carolina.
Here in north Florida where I am the bear population has exploded big time since Florida terminated bear hunting 15-18 years ago. Since I'm in the forest/wildlife management business I stay in fairly close contact with the state biology boys about various wildlife populations, so I know that within the last 2 years 73 different bear have been documented within 5 miles of where I live. I've had them within 200 feet of the house eating persimmons, and I saw one cross the road 3 weeks ago last Saturday, within 3-4 miles of the house. Bears never hibernate here in the Deep South. Neither do Rattlesnakes or Cottonmouths :yikes:
Have you ever notice that snakes are bigger also until you actually kill and measure them ... that 6 foot cottonmouth is really only 3 1/2.
- George Orwell
All bears here are 1,000 pounds or larger. If you don't believe me ask the zoo keeper!!! :yikes::rotflmao::rotflmao::rotflmao:
Son that's somebody with nothing to do with his time but keep me in trouble with mom.
I personally saw a cottonmouth in Clewiston, FL that was maybe 5 feet long and as big as your arm. I was driving up a dirt road to a location of US Sugar and saw what I thought was a stock fence post in the road until I got close enough to see it moving. The guide there told me they weren't all that rare but didn't get much bigger either.
Today I have heard they are getting over run by boas and such that are 10 to 12 feet long ... don't know if that is true but when I was down there most people who spent a good amount of time outside carried a pistol of some type, I ain't talkin' no .380 either!
- George Orwell
http://www.npr.org/2012/01/31/146124073/pythons-blamed-for-everglades-disappearing-animals
JAY
I've had that happen to me a few times