{"id":13656,"date":"2020-03-09T06:30:00","date_gmt":"2020-03-09T10:30:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.massaudubon.org\/yourgreatoutdoors\/?p=13656"},"modified":"2021-03-19T14:08:52","modified_gmt":"2021-03-19T18:08:52","slug":"take-5-burly-black-bears","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.massaudubon.org\/yourgreatoutdoors\/take-5-burly-black-bears\/","title":{"rendered":"Take 5: Burly Black Bears"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

There is only one bear species that makes its home in Massachusetts: the handsome Black Bear<\/a> (Ursus americanus<\/em>). Although they are the largest meat-eating mammal in the state, reaching up to 500 pounds, Black Bears also enjoy berries, nuts, seeds, flowers, fruits, and succulent grasses (including corn), as well as garbage. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

After hibernating through the winter, Black Bears are beginning to emerge from their winter sleep around the beginning of March, and they are hungry<\/em>. You would be too if you’d been living off your stored body fat for months! Birdseed is a delectable and calorie-dense treat for hungry bears and they have excellent memories, so if you live in an area with bears, you might want to take down your bird feeders before the bears find them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Unfortunately, conflicts between people and bears are becoming more commonplace as land is developed in or near bears\u2019 preferred habitats. As black bears lose their preferred feeding and denning sites to development, they must move greater distances to find food (and often in residential areas). Learn more about bears<\/a> on our website, including how to keep them away and what to do should you encounter one.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Here are five fantastic photos of bears and their “bare necessities” from our annual Picture This: Your Great Outdoors<\/a> photo contest. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Black
Black Bear \u00a9 Karen Karlberg<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"Black
Black Bear \u00a9 David Zulch<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"Black
Black Bear \u00a9 Alvin Laasanen<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"Black
Black Bear \u00a9 Jason Goldstein<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"Black
Black Bear \u00a9 Dorrie Holmes<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

There is only one bear species that makes its home in Massachusetts: the handsome Black Bear (Ursus americanus). Although they are the largest meat-eating mammal in the state, reaching up to 500 pounds, Black Bears also enjoy berries, nuts, seeds, flowers, fruits, and succulent grasses (including corn), as well as garbage. After hibernating through the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":68,"featured_media":13661,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[158],"tags":[334,335,273,83,84],"class_list":["post-13656","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-take-5","tag-bears","tag-black-bear","tag-mammals","tag-photo-contest","tag-photography"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/blogs.massaudubon.org\/yourgreatoutdoors\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2020\/03\/4193Jason_Goldstein29209.jpg","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p3t87A-3yg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":15395,"url":"https:\/\/blogs.massaudubon.org\/yourgreatoutdoors\/take-5-bear-in-mind\/","url_meta":{"origin":13656,"position":0},"title":"Take 5: Bear in Mind","author":"Ryan D.","date":"March 22, 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"\"Yaaaaawwwn! What a great nap. Boy, am I hungry...where'd I leave those sunflower seeds?\" Sound familiar? Even if long naps don't give you the munchies, you can probably understand why Black Bears are so hungry when they wake up from their 3\u20134 month winter hibernation: they lose about 30 percent\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "General"","block_context":{"text":"General","link":"https:\/\/blogs.massaudubon.org\/yourgreatoutdoors\/category\/general\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Black Bear \u00a9 Jeanne Gleason","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blogs.massaudubon.org\/yourgreatoutdoors\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2021\/03\/4346Jeanne_Gleason18894-2.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blogs.massaudubon.org\/yourgreatoutdoors\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2021\/03\/4346Jeanne_Gleason18894-2.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blogs.massaudubon.org\/yourgreatoutdoors\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2021\/03\/4346Jeanne_Gleason18894-2.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blogs.massaudubon.org\/yourgreatoutdoors\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2021\/03\/4346Jeanne_Gleason18894-2.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":2586,"url":"https:\/\/blogs.massaudubon.org\/yourgreatoutdoors\/why-did-the-woolly-bear-cross-the-road\/","url_meta":{"origin":13656,"position":1},"title":"Why Did the Woolly Bear Cross the Road?","author":"Kristin S.","date":"November 12, 2014","format":false,"excerpt":"Fall brings with it the familiar and well-loved sight of woolly bear caterpillars crossing roadways and sidewalks. Looking like orange and black-banded bottle brushes, these 1-2 inch caterpillars dodge vehicles and bicycles to get to the other side. With luck and time, these beloved caterpillars will transform into Isabella Tiger\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Nature Notes"","block_context":{"text":"Nature Notes","link":"https:\/\/blogs.massaudubon.org\/yourgreatoutdoors\/category\/nature-notes\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blogs.massaudubon.org\/yourgreatoutdoors\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2013\/11\/WoollyBear-e1415116071345.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":16682,"url":"https:\/\/blogs.massaudubon.org\/yourgreatoutdoors\/the-dos-and-donts-of-feeding-birds\/","url_meta":{"origin":13656,"position":2},"title":"The Do\u2019s and Don\u2019ts of Feeding Birds","author":"Kaylin D.","date":"February 23, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"Feeding birds is a fun and easy activity for people of all ages. 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Eastern Bluebird DO Do research on what type of seed to\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Birds & Birding"","block_context":{"text":"Birds & Birding","link":"https:\/\/blogs.massaudubon.org\/yourgreatoutdoors\/category\/birds-birding\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blogs.massaudubon.org\/yourgreatoutdoors\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2022\/02\/6729Rowan_Reichard35072-750x500-93f1ae75-06bc-4df6-9c46-088f48bbc618.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blogs.massaudubon.org\/yourgreatoutdoors\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2022\/02\/6729Rowan_Reichard35072-750x500-93f1ae75-06bc-4df6-9c46-088f48bbc618.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blogs.massaudubon.org\/yourgreatoutdoors\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2022\/02\/6729Rowan_Reichard35072-750x500-93f1ae75-06bc-4df6-9c46-088f48bbc618.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blogs.massaudubon.org\/yourgreatoutdoors\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2022\/02\/6729Rowan_Reichard35072-750x500-93f1ae75-06bc-4df6-9c46-088f48bbc618.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":9558,"url":"https:\/\/blogs.massaudubon.org\/yourgreatoutdoors\/take-5-caterpillar-craze\/","url_meta":{"origin":13656,"position":3},"title":"Take 5: Caterpillar Craze","author":"Ryan D.","date":"August 7, 2017","format":false,"excerpt":"What on earth are caterpillars, anyway? \"Caterpillar\" is a common name for the \"larval\" (immature) stage of insects of the order Lepidoptera, a.k.a. butterflies and moths. 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