Black Bear Making Comeback
It's taken a long time, but black bears are back.After a 150-year absence, black bears are returning to the Buckeye State, said Geauga Park District…
It’s taken a long time, but black bears are back.
After a 150-year absence, black bears are returning to the Buckeye State, said Geauga Park District Chief Naturalist John Kolar.
Kolar will hold “Black Bears Returning Home,” a hands-on program from 3:30 to 4:30 p.m. Jan. 12 at The West Woods Nature Center in Russell Township.
Visitors can discover the “bear facts” about Ohio’s largest mammal through illustrations, tracks, pelts, games and other hands-on activities.
Kolar will describe population trends in Ohio, discuss what county led the state in recent bear sightings, dispel popular misconceptions and answer questions about the black bear.
“People will also learn what to do if they encounter a bear in the wild,” Kolar said. “It promises to be an educational, eye-opening and inspiring program with opportunities for audience participation.”
Both unregulated hunting and habitat loss rendered bears completely gone from Ohio by 1850. Today, Ohio is again home to a small, but growing population of black bears, according to the Ohio Department of Natural Resources website.
The state’s bear population is estimated to be anywhere from 50 to 100 resident bears. This does not include the juvenile male bears that wander into Ohio from neighboring states during the late spring and early summer, Kolar said.
Most black bears range in size from 100 to 400 pounds, are 5 to 6 feet in length and average 3-feet-high at the shoulder. The majority of bears in Ohio weigh between 125 and 250 pounds, and are juvenile male bears.
Dispersing young black bears will often travel great distances in search of new habitat and are most likely to be seen by or interact with humans. These bears are extremely agile and are able to run up to 35 mph, climb trees with ease and swim long distances, according to the ODNR.
Bears are omnivores, meaning they will eat a wide variety of foods. Depending on the season, their diet may include grasses, forbs, berries, mast from oak, hickory, and beech trees, carrion and insect larvae. Bears will also consume agricultural crops.
Ohio’s Country Journal, a website devoted to agricultural news across the state, described the impact of the bears’ slow return in a July 2, 2013, article.
“The bears will settle in a territory in Ohio, but only if they find an area with a female,” ODNR Wildlife Research Biologist Suzie Prange told the Country Journal last summer.
“Because females tend to settle next to their mother’s territory, black bear range expands very slowly. Many of the young males we see each year in Ohio won’t find females and won’t stay.”
Bear sightings occur predominately in the eastern half of Ohio, Prange said, adding most sightings are in the northeastern part of the state. However, the region has more people able to report sightings.
The actual number of bears may be higher in the more remote areas of Ohio, such as southeastern Ohio, but there are fewer people able to report them, she added.
Registration is not required for this all-ages, wheelchair/stroller accessible program. Call 440-286-9516 with questions.
