scholarly journals Methods for Capturing Free-Ranging Black Bears, Ursus americanus, in Difficult Locations

2003 ◽  
Vol 117 (4) ◽  
pp. 621 ◽  
Author(s):  
John E. McDonald
Keyword(s):  
Ursus Americanus ◽  
Black Bear ◽  
Black Bears ◽  
Chemical Immobilization ◽  
Free Ranging

Long-term research or monitoring studies involving radiomarked Black Bears (Ursus americanus) conducted in areas with high human and road densities may require that radiocollars be replaced or bears recaptured for other purposes. The use of trained bear hounds is particularly suited to recapturing specific bears. However, in certain situations, hounds may not be used safely or bears may seek refuge in difficult locations. Effectiveness of two methods to capture bears via remote darting and chemical immobilization are described: (1) stalking and rushing females with cubs; and (2) allowing treed bears to descend. Both methods rely on assumptions about Black Bear behavior. Nine captures of eight individual bears are discussed; one bear drowned after being immobilized, and all others survived >5 months after capture.

Hibernating black bears have blood chemistry and plasma amino acid profiles that are indicative of long-term adaptive fasting

2005 ◽  
Vol 83 (9) ◽  
pp. 1257-1263 ◽  
Author(s):  
T D Lohuis ◽  
T D.I Beck ◽  
H J Harlow
Keyword(s):  
Amino Acids ◽  
Ursus Americanus ◽  
Muscle Protein ◽  
Blood Chemistry ◽  
Black Bears ◽  
Late Winter ◽  
Amino Acid Profiles ◽  
Protein Conservation ◽  
Branched Chain

Blood samples were drawn from six black bears (Ursus americanus Pallas, 1780) active in the summer and six others in early and late hibernation. Plasma urea:creatinine ratios and concentrations of amino acids, alanine aminotransferase, and aspartate aminotransferase dropped during the winter denning season, suggesting a decreased protein breakdown. Fifteen amino acids (3 branched chain and 12 glucogenic) were lower in the early winter than in the summer, but 6 of these amino acids rose back to summer levels by the late denning season. Hydroxyproline and glycine were also elevated during late winter, suggesting an increase in collagen breakdown. This profile suggests a dynamic process of adaptive fasting and protein conservation during the winter with a mobilization of non-myofibrilar collagen and perhaps smooth muscle protein reserves to augment a potential but slight increased breakdown of skeletal muscle during the late winter.

ASSAYS FOR DETECTION AND IDENTIFICATION OF THE CAUSATIVE AGENT OF MANGE IN FREE-RANGING BLACK BEARS (URSUS AMERICANUS)

2018 ◽  
Vol 54 (3) ◽  
pp. 471 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sarah K. Peltier ◽  
Justin D. Brown ◽  
Mark A. Ternent ◽  
Heather Fenton ◽  
Kevin D. Niedringhaus ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Causative Agent ◽  
Ursus Americanus ◽  
Black Bears ◽  
Detection And Identification ◽  
Free Ranging

Seroprevalence of Sarcoptes scabiei in Free-Ranging Black Bears (Ursus americanus) in Eastern North Carolina, USA

2021 ◽  
Vol 57 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
Emma Houck ◽  
Colleen Olfenbuttel ◽  
Michael Stoskopf ◽  
Suzanne Kennedy-Stoskopf
Keyword(s):  
North Carolina ◽  
Ursus Americanus ◽  
Sarcoptes Scabiei ◽  
Black Bears ◽  
Eastern North Carolina ◽  
Free Ranging

scholarly journals Behavior in Free-Living American Black Bear Dens: Parturition, Maternal Care, and Cub Behavior

Animals ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (7) ◽  
pp. 1123
Author(s):  
Lynn L. Rogers ◽  
Linda McColley ◽  
Janet Dalton ◽  
Jim Stroner ◽  
Douglas Hajicek ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Ursus Americanus ◽  
Post Partum ◽  
Black Bear ◽  
Geographic Region ◽  
Black Bears ◽  
Free Living ◽  
Future Studies ◽  
American Black Bear ◽  
Eye Opening ◽  
American Black

Denning behavior has long remained the least observed aspect of bear behavior. During 2010–2013, we used webcams, microphones, the internet, and 14,602 h of archived video to document the denning behaviors of two adult wild black bears (Ursus americanus) as they gave birth and cared for four litters through six winters in northeastern Minnesota. Observations included types of dens, labor, pre-parturient genital swelling, birthing positions, post-partum vocalizations, mothers removing amniotic tissues and warming newborn cubs in sub-freezing temperatures, frequency of nursing, cubs establishing nipple order, yearlings suckling, the ingestion of snow and icicles, the ingestion of foot pads, urination and defecation in latrine areas, toilet-licking, eye opening, reciprocal tongue-licking, play, rapid eye movement (REM) sleep and possible dreaming, and reactions to wildlife intruders. The use of this new method for observing natural bear dens allowed the identification of many behaviors undescribed for any species of wild bear in dens. We also discuss the need for future studies and how the depth and duration of black bear hibernation varies with body condition and geographic region.

A study of predominant aerobic microflora of black bears (Ursus americanus) and grizzly bears (Ursus arctos) in northwestern Alberta

1987 ◽  
Vol 33 (11) ◽  
pp. 949-954 ◽  
Author(s):  
L. J. Goatcher ◽  
M. W. Barrett ◽  
R. N. Coleman ◽  
A. W. L. Hawley ◽  
A. A. Qureshi
Keyword(s):  
Soil Bacteria ◽  
Ursus Arctos ◽  
Random Distribution ◽  
Ursus Americanus ◽  
Black Bear ◽  
Black Bears ◽  
Grizzly Bears ◽  
Grizzly Bear ◽  
Streptococcus Species ◽  
Generic Composition

Swab specimens were obtained from nasal, rectal, and preputial or vaginal areas of 37 grizzly and 17 black bears, captured during May to June of 1981 to 1983, to determine the types and frequency of predominant aerobic microflora. Bacterial genera most frequently isolated from bears were Escherichia, Citrobacter, Hafnia, Proteus, Staphylococcus, and Streptococcus species, comprising about 65% of the isolates. Erwinia, Xanthomonas, Agrobacterium, Rhizobium, and Gluconobacter/Acetobacter were also isolated but at lower frequencies (< 5%). Comparison of bacterial generic composition using similarity quotient values showed no appreciable differences between grizzly and black bear flora. Also, no outstanding differences in bacterial generic composition were observed among grizzly bear samples; however, differences were noted among black bear samples. Fungal genera most commonly encountered included Cryptococcus, Rhodotorula, Cladosporium, Penicillium, Sporobolomyces, and Candida. In general, the microflora of both bear types were marked by generic diversity and random distribution. The majority of microorganisms isolated from the plant samples in the study area were also found in bear samples. This observation and the presence of certain water and soil bacteria in samples from bears suggest that the predominant microflora of both grizzly and black bears were transient and probably influenced by their foraging habits and surrounding environments.

The field energetics of winter-dormant black bear (Ursus americanus) in northeastern Minnesota

1988 ◽  
Vol 66 (10) ◽  
pp. 2095-2103 ◽  
Author(s):  
Robert K. Maxwell ◽  
Jeffrey Thorkelson ◽  
Lynn L. Rogers ◽  
Robert B. Brander
Keyword(s):  
Mass Loss ◽  
Ursus Americanus ◽  
Heat Budget ◽  
Energy Requirement ◽  
Black Bear ◽  
Oblate Spheroid ◽  
Black Bears ◽  
Protein Catabolism ◽  
Winter Climate ◽  
Internal Sources

Black bears (Ursus americanus) can spend half of their lives in a severe winter climate using only internal sources of energy and exchanging energy only as heat with their external environment. This paper presents the energy requirement to maintain a bear, and the magnitude of the heat transfer pathways to the bear's surroundings. Flux rate densities of the heat budget were measured for two denning black bears. It was found that the surface area of an oblate spheroid simulating the shape of the curled-up bears balanced the budgets. From these data a simulated bear–den system was constructed for a 75-kg animal: a fur-covered spheroid that was electrically heated and maintained at 36 °C. The energy requirement and heat transport were measured through the skin and in the den over winter, as was the oxygen consumption of a live bear in a similar den nearby. Over a 145-day denning period, mass loss due to fat catabolism would have ranged between 24 and 28% for the simulated bear with the entrance sealed or open, respectively. Using the amount of oxygen consumed and holding body water constant, the mass loss of the live bear over the same period would have been 19% if just fat had been catabolized. However, additional protein catabolism near the end of the denning period caused the loss to increase to 31%, primarily through urination. Once net protein catabolism began, dehydration and not starvation became life threatening.

Food habits and nutrition of black bears during a gypsy moth infestation

1995 ◽  
Vol 73 (9) ◽  
pp. 1771-1775 ◽  
Author(s):  
John W. Kasbohm ◽  
James G. Kraus ◽  
Michael R. Vaughan
Keyword(s):  
Gypsy Moth ◽  
Food Habits ◽  
National Park ◽  
Crude Protein ◽  
Ursus Americanus ◽  
Substantial Reduction ◽  
Black Bear ◽  
Black Bears ◽  
Phytolacca Americana ◽  
Shenandoah National Park

During 1988–1991 we determined food habits and indices of diet quality for a black bear (Ursus americanus) population in Shenandoah National Park, Virginia, experiencing a severe gypsy moth (Lymantria dispar) defoliation event, and compared the results with data collected prior to defoliation (1982–1984). Gypsy moth infestation resulted in extensive summer overstory canopy loss and a complete acorn failure in affected areas. As in predefoliation years, analysis of scats collected during defoliation indicated that bears ate primarily herbaceous vegetation in spring, followed by squawroot (Canopholis americana) and fruits of black and sweet cherry (Prunus serotina and P. avium) in summer. However, in early and late fall bears switched from consuming predominantly acorns before defoliation to pokeweed (Phytolacca americana) berries and grapes (Vitis spp.), respectively, during defoliation. Despite acorn loss, no decline in dietary nutritional quality was observed in comparisons of the percentages of crude protein, crude fat, and crude fiber in seasonal diets before and during defoliation. When it is available, bears can successfully exploit soft mast as a fall food source and do not necessarily experience a substantial reduction in food quality if acorn crops fail.

Seroprevalence of Toxoplasma gondii From Free-Ranging Black Bears (Ursus americanus) From Florida

2012 ◽  
Vol 98 (3) ◽  
pp. 674-675 ◽  
Author(s):  
D. L. Chambers ◽  
W. A. Ulrey ◽  
J. M. Guthrie ◽  
O. C. H. Kwok ◽  
J. J. Cox ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Toxoplasma Gondii ◽  
Ursus Americanus ◽  
Black Bears ◽  
Free Ranging
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