The black bear is the New Mexico state mammal. Black bears come in chocolate brown, black, cinnamon, honey, and blond. They can live as long as 30 years in captivity, but rarely that long in the wild. The females typically weigh around 90 to 150 pounds. The males can get up to 300 pounds. Their territory can range up to 350 miles, but is usually only about 25 square miles. They have sharper noses than a bloodhound, and are smarter than a German shepherd. In New Mexico, they go into hibernation in October or November, depending on the weather conditions, and come out of hibernation in March or April, but sometimes as late as June. When they first come out of their dens, they forage for grass and other browse, eating about 2500 calories a day. Towards the end of summer, however, they up their calorie intact to about 20,000 calories a day, putting on lots of fat for the long winter sleep.
During this time of fattening up, they mate. But the female’s fertilized egg will not attach itself to the lining of her uterus until she has gone into hibernation. This is to save the energy it would take to grow a fetus while she is fattening for winter. Because of this delay, gestation can be 7 to 8 months, but the actual time when the fetus is growing is only about 2 months. When she comes out of her den, she will have one or two cubs to raise. They will weigh about 12 ounces (squirrel-sized). Cubs are weaned around seven months but will remain with their mother for up to 2 years.
Black bears do not typically attack humans unless provoked. They are basically docile, but they are relentless in their search for food. The will break into a car to get the candy bar still in its wrapper under the back seat. Their sense of smell is that acute. The will empty a hummingbird feeder in a few seconds. The will maul an outdoor grill to get to the grease on the bottom. They are constantly on the lookout for food sources. A compost pile is a gold mine. The easy pickings from humans turn black bears into instant food junkies and increase the chances of bear encounters.
If you live in bear country you should never leave food out, or fail to clean up your kitchen after you eat your meals. You should keep lower windows closed at night, garbage containers secured, and never feed them. In fact, it is against the law in New Mexico to feed them, either directly or indirectly, and you can be severely fined. If a bear comes into contact with humans, it usually must be put down. It’s best to avoid this, as they will generally leave you alone. If you feel threatened by a bear, you can use pepper spray to deter it. Most of the time they will only bluff charge and something like pepper spray will send them on their way.
They make various sounds which mean various things. They have a way of clicking their teeth, making a hollow sound like a bamboo rod on a fence. When they do this, they are attempting to smell food. They rarely growl except in movies. Only 10% of their diet consists of meat and fish. They are excellent climbers and may stay up a tree most of the day, coming down in the evening to forage until dawn. If you see a bear raise on its hind legs, head and nose up, it is hunting for food. If you see a bear, don’t make eye contact, but also, don't run. They will usually avoid contact unless they sense that you are a threat, like a mother with cubs.
There have been many bear sightings in our development. Last year a yearling cub fell over into the dumpster down by the maintenance shed. It broke its neck and the New Mexico Game and Fish people had to be called to put it down. The man who did that deed came and spoke to all of us at a Town Hall meeting on how to be "Bear Aware." I feel I know a lot more, now, about black bears, and I am even more scared of them than I was before.
Onward .....
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