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Black Bear

Black bears are one of the more common species in North America. They live in many different habitats are not picky about what they eat. Their keen sense of smell gives them much information about their environment and foods they eat.

The American black bear is considered a threatened species in some areas. In fact they are protected in the states of Louisiana, Texas, and Mississippi. In other areas they are actively hunted and are subject to open "hunting seasons".

CHARACTERISTICS

Black bear anatomy includes a straight face and flat shoulders. It has ears that are often pointed and a short tail. Fur color can vary from black to chocolate brown with gray combinations. One of the more notable facts about this species is that they are excellent climbers, even when cubs.

The black bear is very adaptable. They are quite intelligent and curious. But this smaller bear is very shy and generally avoids confrontations. Records of human attacks are rare.

FACTS

Size: Length is about 4 to 7 feet long. Weight is about 200 to 600 pounds.

Reproduction: Mating season vary depending on habitat climate but breeding usually occurs May through August.

Gestation: 60 to 70 days.

Birth: January or early February.

Litter size: 1 to 3 cubs. Baby pairs are common.

Birth Weight: Baby cubs are usually under one pound.

Vocalizations: Grunts, moaning sounds, and growling.

Threats: Loss of habitat, territory fragmentation, changes in environment due to global warming, poaching.

BLACK BEAR CUBS

Baby black bears are born and live in the safety of the mother's den during winter. The average cub litter size is 1 to 3. Babies are born blind. A black bear baby weighs between one half to one pound at birth.

They put on weight quickly. The mother spends the following year and a half weaning, feeding, and teaching her cubs what to eat and how to survive. At that point they venture on to live on their own.

The sad fact is that many baby cubs will not reach adulthood due to hunting and attacks from predators. The mother will usually mate every 2 years but frequency depends on food resources, age, environment, and habitat density.

HOW MANY BLACK BEARS LIVE IN NORTH AMERICA?

The total black bear population is estimated to be between 600,000 to 700,000 (excluding baby cubs). Habitat distribution information suggests about 55% live in Canada, 40% live in the United States, and 5% are in Mexico (accurate population facts south of Mexico unknown). Thanks to conservation efforts their population in some areas, such as California, are on the increase.

WHERE DO BLACK BEARS LIVE?

Historic information suggests black bear habitat included most of North America including Alaska, Canada, almost all of the lower 48 United States, and Mexico. Today their home range territory is mostly in Alaska and Canada. Their territory is greatly reduced in Mexico. In the continental United States they live in less than 20% of their original range.

Black bears prefer to live in dense forests where there is a variety of food to eat and they can raise their cubs. But they have adapted to many different habitats. They build their dens in caves, burrows, tree trunks, and brush or grass nests. They collect grass and leaves to pad their dens.

WHAT DO BLACK BEARS EAT?

American black bears are eating machines and are mostly vegetarian. Baby cubs are also voracious eaters. At the top of the food chain they are not picky about their diet. They will eat field grasses, roots, tubers, nuts, berries of all kinds, fruits, and other foods.

They also eat ants, grubs, termites, beetles, and other insects. Black bears also like salmon and other kinds of fish and will hunt for small mammals if available where they live.

They grip their prey with their sharp teeth or claws. If given the opportunity they will attack (or threaten) other predators to scavenge their prey. In fact wolves are weary of bears who monitor their hunting activities.

BLACK BEAR ATTACKS

Black bears are shy and normally avoid people. Human attacks are rare. Still one should not get too close or feed them. They may become protective if cubs are present and may bluff intruders with fake charges.

When hiking it is a good idea to "announce" your presence by making noise. If you encounter a standing black bear, it is not threatening you. It is trying to get more information about you and your intentions.

The best defense is to back out of the area slowly. In parks such as Yosemite National Park in California, black bears are accustomed to people because they view them as a source of food handouts.

DO BLACK BEARS HIBERNATE?

Information about black bear hibernation suggests they enter a partial state of the process. Although there is a drop in body temperature, metabolic rate, and heart rate, they can awaken from their sleep to defend their cubs or ward off attacks if necessary.

Black bear hibernation can last up to 6 or 7 months depending on their habitat and climate conditions. They make use of their body fat and do not eat or pass any wastes. One of the more notable facts is that some do not hibernate as long or skip the process altogether when food is abundant.

CAN BLACK BEARS SWIM?

North American Black bears like to swim. If there is water where they live they will exploit it for food. Since bears like to hunt fish they are not shy of water. In fact their baby cubs take to the water quickly.

In their search for food in their habitat they can cross ponds, lakes, and rivers to get to better feeding grounds (including campgrounds, lodges, and resorts). They use their powerful front and hind legs to paddle swiftly through water and are actually graceful swimmers.

HOW FAST CAN A BLACK BEAR RUN?

At its normal pace black bears waddle slowly and casually. When in danger or hunting for prey they have the ability to burst into running mode with speeds up to 25 to 30mph. They can run for short distances only.

BLACK BEAR TRACKS

Black bear paws have short claws to help them climb, dig, gather plant food, and attack small mammals. They use their claws like fingers when they eat. Their front footprints have an oval base with a curved toe line. Hind tracks have a triangular indentation. Toes are spread out.

Depending on the ground surface their claws may not be visible making specie information more difficult. This is particularly true in soils that have a fair amount of sand such as grounds near lakes and rivers where they hunt for fish. Black bear cubs leave small prints with no claw indentations.

WORLD RECORD BLACK BEAR

The largest black bear ever recorded in North America weighed 880 pounds and lived in North Carolina. Many facts including growth rate, habitat, time of year, diet, and gender determine how big a bear will grow. The difference in male/female weight can be up to 25% to 30%. Huge bears tend to be male.

Black bears will weigh more after they have bulked up in the summer prior to hibernation and before having baby cubs. The next biggest record black bear weighed 876 pounds and was in Minnesota. Larger claims in populated areas such as California have been made but never substantiated.

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Black Bear: Characteristics, Facts, Cubs, Population, Live, Eat, Attacks, Hibernate, Tracks, World Record

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Black Bear Black bears are one of the more common species in North America. They live in many different habitats are not picky about what they eat. Their keen sense of smell gives them much information about their environment and foods they eat. The American black bear is considered a threatened species in some areas.

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THE STAR OF THE WINTER

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THE WINTER IS GOING TO BE AWESOME IF WE READ IT     YA! YA! YA! AND YA!

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THE WINTER IS GOING TO BE AWESOME IF WE READ IT     YA! YA! YA! AND YA!

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THE WINTER IS JUST LIKE BRIANS HUNT BECAUSE YOU READ THEM.

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THE WINTER IS JUST LIKE BRIANS HUNT BECAUSE YOU READ THEM.

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THE WILD IS KNOW JOKE SOME PEOPLE DIED IN THE WILD. JUST TO DO IT JUST LIKE THE SHOW ALONE ALL YOU DO IN ALONE IS SURVIVE IN THE WILD.

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How to Survive in the Wild. Advanced GPS and cellular phone usage have made getting lost in the wild a declining phenomenon, nearly the lowest it's ever been. However, there are some situations you cannot avoid. Smart planning and quick...

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There is a primal link between man and fire. Every man should know how to start one. A manly man knows how to start one without matches. It's an essential survival skill. You never know when you'll find yourself in a situation where you'll need a fire, but you don't have matches. Maybe your single engine plane goes down while you're flying over the Alaskan wilderness, like the kid in Hatchet. Or perhaps you're out camping and you lose your backpack in a tussle with a bear. It need not be something as dramatic as these situations - even extremely windy or wet conditions can render matches virtually uselessly. And whether or not you ever need to call upon these skills, it's just damn cool to know you can start a fire, whenever and wherever you are.

Friction-Based Fire Making

Friction-based fire making is not for the faint of heart. It's probably the most difficult of all the non-match methods. There are different techniques you can use to make a fire with friction, but the most important aspect is the type of wood you use for the fire board and spindle.

The spindle is the stick you'll use to spin in order to create the friction between it and the fireboard. If you create enough friction between the spindle and the fireboard, you can create an ember that can be used to create a fire. Cottonwood, juniper, aspen, willow, cedar, cypress, and walnut make the best fire board and spindle sets.

Before you can use wood to start a friction based fire, the wood must be bone dry. If the wood isn't dry, you'll have to dry it out first.

1. The Hand Drill

The hand drill method is the most primitive, the most primal, and the most difficult to do All you need is wood, tireless hands, and some gritty determination. Therefore, it'll put more hair on your chest than any other method. Here's how it's done:

Build a tinder nest. Your tinder nest will be used to create the flame you get from the spark you're about to create. Make a tinder nest out of anything that catches fire easily, like dry grass, leaves, and bark.

Make your notch. Cut a v-shaped notch into your fire board and make a small depression adjacent to it.

Place bark underneath the notch. The bark will be used to catch an ember from the friction between the spindle and fireboard.

Start spinning. Place the spindle into the depression on your fire board. Your spindle should be about 2 feet long for this to work properly. Maintain pressure on the board and start rolling the spindle between your hands, running them quickly down the spindle. Keep doing this until an ember is formed on the fireboard.

Start a fire! Once you see a glowing ember, tap the fire board to drop you ember onto the piece of bark. Transfer the bark to your nest of tinder. Gently blow on it to start your flame.

2. Fire Plough

Prepare your fireboard. Cut a groove in the fireboard. This will be your track for the spindle.

Rub! Take the tip of your spindle and place it in the groove of your fireboard. Start rubbing the tip of the spindle up and down the groove.

Start a fire. Have your tinder nest at the end of the fireboard, so that you'll plow embers into as you're rubbing. Once you catch one, blow the nest gently and get that fire going.

3. Bow Drill

The bow drill is probably the most effective friction based method to use because it's easier to maintain the speed and pressure you need to create enough friction to start a fire. In addition to the spindle and fireboard, you'll also need a socket and a bow.

Get a socket. The socket is used to put pressure on the other end of the spindle as you're rotating it with the bow. The socket can be a stone or another piece of wood. If you use another piece of wood, try to find a harder piece than what you're using for the spindle. Wood with sap and oil are good as it creates a lubricant between the spindle and the socket.

Make your bow. The bow should be about as long as your arm. Use a flexible piece of wood that has a slight curve. The string of the bow can be anything. A shoelace, rope, or strip of rawhide works great. Just find something that won't break. String up your bow and you're ready to go.

Prepare the fireboard. Cut a v-shaped notch and create a depression adjacent to it in the fireboard. Underneath the notch, place your tinder.

String up the spindle. Catch the spindle in a loop of the bow string. Place one end of the spindle in the fireboard and apply pressure on the other end with your socket.

Start sawing. Using your bow, start sawing back and forth. You've basically created a rudimentary mechanical drill. The spindle should be rotating quickly. Keep sawing until you create an ember.

Make you fire. Drop the ember into the tinder nest and blow on it gently. You got yourself a fire.

4. Flint and Steel

This is an old standby. It's always a good idea to carry around a good flint and steel set with you on a camping trip. Matches can get wet and be become pretty much useless, but you can still get a spark from putting steel to a good piece of flint. Swedish FireSteel Army model is a good set to use.

If you're caught without a flint and steel set, you can always improvise by using quartzite and the steel blade of your pocket knife (you are carrying your pocket knife, aren't you?). You'll also need char. Char is cloth that has been turned into charcoal. Char catches a spark and keeps it smoldering without bursting into flames. If you don't have char, a piece of fungus or birch will do.

Grip the rock and char cloth. Take hold of the piece of rock between your thumb and forefinger. Make sure an edge is hanging out about 2 or 3 inches. Grasp the char between your thumb and the flint.

Strike! Grasp the back of the steel striker or use the back of your knife blade. Strike the steel against the flint several times. Sparks from the steel will fly off and land on the char cloth, causing a glow.

Start a fire. Fold up your char cloth into the tinder nest and gently blow on it to start a flame.

Using a lens to start a fire is an easy matchless method. Any boy who has melted green plastic army men with a magnifying glass will know how to do this. If you have by chance never melted green plastic army men, here's how to do it.

5. Traditional Lenses

To create a fire, all you need is some sort of lens in order to focus sunlight on a specific spot. A magnifying glass, eyeglasses, or binocular lenses all work. If you add some water to the lens, you can intensify the beam. Angle the lens towards the sun in order to focus the beam into as small an area as possible. Put your tinder nest under this spot and you'll soon have yourself a fire.

The only drawback to the lens based method is that it only works when you have sun. So if it's nighttime or overcast, you won't have any luck.

In addition to the typical lens method, there are three odd, but effective, lens-based methods to start a fire as well.

6. Balloons and Condoms

By filling a balloon or condom with water, you can transform these ordinary objects into fire creating lenses.

Fill the condom or balloon with water and tie off the end. You'll want to make it as spherical as possible. Don't make the inflated balloon or condom too big or it will distort the sunlight's focal point. Squeeze the balloon to find a shape that gives you a sharp circle of light. Try squeezing the condom in the middle to form two smaller lenses.

Condoms and balloons both have a shorter focal length than an ordinary lens. Hold them 1 to 2 inches from your tinder.

7. Fire From Ice

Fire from ice isn't just some dumb cliché used for high school prom themes. You can actually make fire from a piece of ice. All you need to do is form the ice into a lens shape and then use it as you would when starting a fire with any other lens. This method can be particularly handy for wintertime camping.

Get clear water. For this to work, the ice must be clear. If it's cloudy or has other impurities, it's not going to work. The best way to get a clear ice block is to fill up a bowl, cup, or a container made out of foil with clear lake or pond water or melted snow. Let it freeze until it forms ice. Your block should be about 2 inches thick for this to work.

Form your lens. Use your knife to shape the ice into a lens. Remember a lens shape is thicker in the middle and narrower near the edges.

Polish your lens. After you get the rough shape of a lens, finish the shaping of it by polishing it with your hands. The heat from your hands will melt the ice enough so you get a nice smooth surface.

Start a fire. Angle your ice lens towards the sun just as you would any other lens. Focus the light on your tinder nest and watch as you make a once stupid cliché come to life.

8. Coke Can and Chocolate Bar

I saw this method in a YouTube video a while back ago and thought it was pretty damn cool. All you need is a soda can, a bar of chocolate, and a sunny day.

Polish the bottom of the soda can with the chocolate. Open up your bar of chocolate and start rubbing it on the bottom of the soda can. The chocolate acts as a polish and will make the bottom of the can shine like a mirror. If you don't have chocolate with you, toothpaste also works.

Make your fire. After polishing the bottom of your can, what you have is essentially a parabolic mirror. Sunlight will reflect off the bottom of the can, forming a single focal point. It's kind of like how a mirror telescope works.

Point the bottom of the can towards the sun. You'll have created a highly focused ray of light aimed directly at your tinder. Place the tinder about an inch from the reflecting light's focal point. In a few seconds you should have a flame.

While I can't think of any time that I would be in the middle of nowhere with a can of Coke and chocolate bar, this method is still pretty cool.

9. Batteries and Steel Wool

Like the chocolate and soda can method, it's hard to imagine a situation where you won't have matches, but you will have some batteries and some steel wool. But hey, you never know. And it's quite easy and fun to try at home.

Stretch out the Steel Wool. You want it to be about 6 inches long and a ½-inch wide.

Rub the battery on the steel wool. Hold the steel wool in one hand and the battery in the other. Any battery will do, but 9-volt batteries work best. Rub the side of the battery with the "contacts" on the wool. The wool will begin to glow and burn. Gently blow on it.

Transfer the burning wool to your tinder nest. The wool's flame will extinguish quickly, so don't waste any time.
Field and Stream Primitive Ways

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How to Start a Fire Without Matches | The Art of Manliness

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There is a primal link between man and fire. Every man should know how to start one. A manly man knows how to start one without matches. It's an essential survival skill. You never know when you'll find yourself in a situation where you'll need a fire, but you don't have matches.

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Once the weapon of choice for everyone from Native American hunters to Turkish armies, the bow is one of the oldest hunting (and fighting) tools on Earth. While it is not a match for modern weaponry -- or indeed for modern archery...

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30 30 rifles are very power full and this gun was used in Brains Hunt not the whole gun the brand because it said  Brian found a bead body and in the cabin in the corner there was a 30 30 rifle then the bear came tords him and he coldn`t get it louded.

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A Utah man and his mother today in municipal court in Santa Ana.So far, they have refused to return to Utah voluntarily to face the charges.there are different type of groups like Cree there life is like a rusty bumper

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Article

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News from California, the nation and world - Los Angeles Times

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The L.A. Times is a leading source of breaking news, entertainment, sports, politics, and more for Southern California and the world.