Time of year: It’s black bear birthing season

This is the time of year — late January and early February — when black bears are giving birth in the den.

Ginny Apple, a Master Wildlife Conservationist volunteer with the state Department of Energy and Environmental Protection, spoke on Saturday, Feb. 11, at the Norfolk Library to a rapt audience of approximately 100.

Apple said newborn cubs range from 6 to 12 ounces. Their blue eyes are closed and they have no hair.

“They’re very cute,” she said.

Apple’s talk, part of a series sponsored by the nonprofit Great Mountain Forest in Norfolk and Falls Village, focused on the natural history of black bears in Connecticut and included an overview of habitat, diet, behavior and reproduction.

Apple began with a discussion of boundaries and advice on coexisting with what she called these “mythical creatures.”

“We need to have boundaries with wild animals,” she said. Apple explained that when a bear stands on its hind feet it is not necessarily a threatening pose.
“It’s getting a look,” she said.

In short, they are more curious than dangerous.

“A Black bear is a somewhat mythical creature. They are very maligned sometimes. Some people think they are dangerous predators. Bloodthirsty. And often lie in wait for us unsuspecting hikers,” Apple said.

But black bears have been long honored in Native American cultures and mythology. Two U.S. states feature bears on their flag: California and Missouri. Many cities also incorporate the image of a bear on their seals. Even the Teddy Bear, with the origin of its name linked to President Teddy Roosevelt, represents a ubiquitous fascination with this long-lived mammal, Apple said.

While starting out in life at less than a pound in weight, adult black bears grow to range in size from about 100 to 600 pounds, and when standing can reach 6 feet and can run 30 to 35 mph, Apple said. By comparison, a polar bear can reach 1,500 pounds and be 8 feet tall when standing. Grizzly bears fall somewhere in the middle at 500 to 900 pounds.

The habitat for bears has evolved over 40 million years, she said.

“The largest bear was the giant short-faced bear at 2,200 pounds and 11 and one-half feet tall,” she said. “It could run up to 50 mph. It disappeared 12,000 years ago.”

Connecticut has a healthy population of black bears, she said.

“We have an estimate of somewhere between 1,100 and 1,200 bears in Connecticut. About 30,000 black bears in New England. There are about 4,500 in Massachusetts and two-thirds of those bears are in the Berkshires,” Apple said.

In 2021, there were about 8,600 bear sitings reported in Connecticut, but Apple clarified that the number is skewed by the fact that there often are multiple sitings of the same animal as it makes it way through backyards in a neighborhood, visiting a smorgasbord of birdfeeders along the way.

Of Connecticut’s 169 towns, 156 towns have reported bear sitings. Apple said that there are more than 80 black bears hit by cars every year in Connecticut.

“A lot of our animals will go along the side of the road in the spring and eat the salt,” she noted.

Apple said that bears love wetlands, and will go to reservoirs and ponds to get cool.

She emphasized that they “eat everything.”

“They spend their lives eating,” she said. “They love berries, nuts, and plants including skunk cabbage—and birdseed, which is the worst thing for them.”

Breeding season runs from late May to August, with a gestation period of 7 months. In the fall, bears focus on acorns, though this year was a bad year for acorns, she said.

By mid-March bears begin to emerge from their dens, which can be anything from a slash pile to a downed tree. Rock dens, tree cavities and even a mountain laurel shrub can serve as a den.

The cubs can barely crawl, but soon learn from their mother how to climb a tree as the go-to safety drill.

“If there’s danger, you go up a tree,” Apple said. “That’s what the mothers teach the cubs.”

John Coston is a member of the board of Great Mountain Forest.

Ginny Apple  spoke Saturday, Feb. 11, at the Norfolk Library. Photo by John Coston

A black bear cub finds the safety zone. Photo by Ginny Apple

Ginny Apple  spoke Saturday, Feb. 11, at the Norfolk Library. Photo by John Coston