Okay.
Hello, everybody.
My name is Ranger Anna and I am super excited
that you get to explore with me today in Shenandoah National Park.
Here at Shenandoah, we are home to all sorts of different animals.
We have reptiles like the eastern box turtle;
amphibians like the Shenandoah salamander;
birds like the peregrine falcon;
and fish like brook trout.
We're also home to lots of different mammal species.
When you think of Shenandoah National Park, which animal comes to your mind?
Well, for me and for a lot of our other visitors,
they think of our largest mammal, the American black bear.
Today, we are going to get a closer look at some of our black bears
here in the park.
More specifically, we are going to go on a journey with a mother bear and her cub.
Now I'll need your help today to guide our black bears on this journey.
So if you're ready, let's head on into the forest.
All right.
We're out here in the forest.
Let's take a look around.
I see a lot of leaves on the ground
and a couple colorful leaves up in our trees still.
But in just a few short months, it'll be windy, chilly
and maybe even snowy up here on our mountain peaks.
The black bears are preparing for the winter time
and our baby bears or our cubs haven't even been born yet.
So let's help out our mother bear to prepare for those winter months ahead.
Should our mother bear
snack on berries and fish
and then go into hibernation or a period of long sleep?
Or should our mother bear snack on those berries and fish
and get up in the winter time if she needs to, to eat things like tree bark?
Which do you think?
Well, it's a
common misconception that black bears hibernate.
Our black bears actually enter something called torpor.
Torpor is where they slow their heart rate way down,
but their body temperature stays too high for it to be true.
Hibernation torpor allows our black bears
to get up in the winter time and eat things like tree bark.
They can't eat things like berries and fish in the winter,
so they have to adapt their diet.
Awesome job helping out our mother bear.
Now let's see if there's any spots here in the forest
where we can find a black bear den.
Here in the forest.
Do you see any space where a black bear could make their den?
I see some tall trees that might have some openings up top.
I also see
this fallen log with lots of leaves nearby.
Which do you think would be a good spot for a black bear den?
Those tall trees or the fallen log? Hmm.
If you picked either, you are correct.
Black bears will squeeze into any small space where they feel safe
and out of sight.
A black bear den sort of looks like a large nest
with lots of leaves, sticks and other debris.
They will stay in their den in the winter time to avoid the cold
weather and the lack of food during the winter time.
The mother bear will give birth to her babies in her den
and then the mother bear and her babies or her cubs
will eventually come out of their dens when it's warm enough in the springtime.
Right now, the meadow is looking pretty brown.
But imagine it's springtime.
The weather is starting to warm up.
These plants are turning green and the berries are starting to grow.
Our black bears finally emerged from their den and they are super hungry.
Where should our black bears go to get their food?
Should they come here at Big Meadows where there's lots of plants for them to eat?
Should they go to Rose River stream where there's lots of fish?
Or should they go to one of our picnic areas
where a camper has left out lots of tasty snacks?
What do you think? Hmm?
Well, hopefully you picked
Big Meadows or Rose River Stream.
Black bears are omnivores, meaning that they eat both meat and also plants.
They eat things like insects, fish,
berries, roots, and lots of other plant species.
Bears have curved claws that they use for digging
and also to climb to get to their food.
They also have a really good sense of smell.
They can smell food up to 20 miles away.
They can also smell trash up to 20 miles away.
That's why it's really important when you are in an outdoor space
to pack up all of your food and all of your trash.
We don't want our bears to get people food
because then they'll start to rely on people to feed them.
We want our black bears to stay wild and to get food in their own environment.
So remember, pack up your food and your trash
and throw it away in a bear safe trash can.
While our mother bear and her cub were eating,
they accidentally got separated and off in the distance near the cub.
There is a coyote.
What should our cub do to stay safe?
Should they try to run away as fast as they can to get to mom?
Or should they climb up a tree away from the coyote?
What do you think? Hmm?
Well, a coyote is no match for an adult bear,
but a coyote can be a threat to a cub.
An adult bear can run up to 35 miles an hour,
but a cub really can't run that fast yet.
So what they should do is they should climb up that tree
because coyotes can't climb.
Now, sometimes, even when a mother bear and her cub are together,
a mother bear will send her cubs up a tree so that she can scope out
the surrounding area to make sure that it's safe from any predators.
Our black bears have made their way onto the Appalachian Trail.
The Appalachian Trail is a super long trail, over 2000 miles long.
It goes all the way from the state of Georgia to the state of Maine.
And we're lucky enough here at Shenandoah to have 101 miles
of the Appalachian Trail and people hike on it every day.
Now, while on the Appalachian Trail, the mother bear uses her
keen sense of smell to smell a potential threat nearby.
What do you think would be a threat to a black bear in Shenandoah?
Do you think it could be a wolf
or a couple of hikers?
Which do you think? Hmm.
Well, we don't have any wolves here at Shenandoah National Park.
We have wolves out in other national parks like Yellowstone National Park.
That could maybe be a threat to our black bears.
But here in Shenandoah, there are no wolves.
There are lots of hikers, though, that hike
on the Appalachian Trail every single day.
And it's really important that when you're hiking on the trail
to keep your eye out for those black bears,
you can also follow some bear safety tips
to keep yourself safe and also our bears safe
while you're hiking on the 80 or any other trail.
A couple of things that you can do is get really big, clap
your hands, make lots of noise, and hopefully that will scare the bear away.
If it doesn't, what you want to do is slowly
back away from the bear until you can no longer see it.
And finally, you want to use the rule of thumb.
So let's do that together.
Go ahead and stick out your thumb like this.
See if you can cover up anything in the distance.
If you see a black bear out in the wild, you want to make sure
that you can completely cover that black bear up with your thumb.
If you can't, then you are way too close to the bear.
You can use the rule of thumb, not just for black bears,
but for any of our animals.
Here at Shenandoah.
If you follow these rules, you can keep yourself safe.
And also, all of our black bears safe here in the park.
Great
job today helping our black bears on their journey.
Black bears are such an important part of the ecosystem here at Shenandoah,
and it's really important that we as visitors protect those black bears.
That's why we want to remember to give them lots of space
and also pack up any of our food and trash.
Thank you so much for exploring with me today.
Hopefully someday you can come to Shenandoah National Park
and maybe even see a black bear in real life.