Injured Bear - How The Story Ends

 

It was another slow week with TC Activity; it appears wildlife is minimizing movement with the heat. One TC videoed a cow moose passing directly in front of one of the cameras ( cover pic ).

 Just for the heck of it I checked out a new wooded area many miles from any trail camera location I currently have. I wanted to see if there were bears in that area. I did find light bear markings on several trees, and a few torn up stumps. A TC was set on a small, dried stream bed to see if any bears are still  passing through the area.

The injured bear YouTube Video that I shared a month or so ago  has been viewed 40k times. More so than any of my earlier videos, it’s interesting that it sparked that much interest. A second follow up video shares how the story ends, both videos are below. Many mornings in the field went into setting trail cameras last spring in hopes of learning  more about bears. The injured bear story was a bonus,

Part 1   https://youtu.be/L96iYigKDQg

Part 2   https://youtu.be/1IjdGgA0M4g

Jim

Interesting Early Bear Review Observation

Pic above is one of the five sows with two offspring

I have started analyzing my 2025 bear data reviewing sows with offspring and noted, this is the first year ever only videoing sows with two cubs during  April – July. Typically, my trial cameras video all combinations of sows with cubs or yearlings (usually  up to three offspring – four was the exception several years back)  . April videoed many different sow cub / yearling combinations.( listed below). This is most unusual given sow cub / yearling data from 2021 – 2024. My next question was, how many different sows  with two cubs were using the twenty square mile area that I am monitoring with trail cameras? After pulling video grabs from what looked like different sows, I estimate four or five are using the area. Two of the sows are frequent visitors, two sows were occasional visitors, and the fifth sow had passed through once. It is just a fluke  I’m sure ,but an interesting observation.

 

	2025
Sow with one Cub	x
Sow with two Cub	x
Sow with three Cub	0
Sow with four Cub	0
Sow with one Yearling	x
Sow with two Yearlings	x
Sow with three Yearlings	x
Sow with four Yearlings	0

 

Jim

Pictured below are the five sows.

Been A Busy Week In A Blueberry Patch

 

Finally, a break in the weather ! Animal movement over the last week was very slow with the extreme heat . The bear in the cover picture along with a sow with two cubs and two other single bears have spent the last several weeks foraging a six acre  back swamp loaded with blueberries. A morning hike around the swamp yesterday gave up sixteen bear scat piles. It’s been a busy place . Now that blueberries have past, bear activity will slow in this area.

Jim

Bear Sign Plentiful In Bush Blueberry Swamp

 

With mating season over, bears are now seeking food sources to gain weight. A swamp with a banner blueberry crop attracted four different bears this week, as seen on my trail cameras. . Low water levels have revealed muddy areas with bear tracks. I tried to cast—though not perfectly, it made for an interesting morning.

The swamp edge was loaded with bear sign. https://youtu.be/sVpl4DNW9t4

Jim

Moose Activity Increasing Soon

 

The snow in the photo above certainly looks inviting given the hot & humid summer so far. The photo is a video grab from a trail camera that has been in the field since last November. This TC captured nice moose footage over the winter.  https://youtu.be/6GkbfRcr9UY

The injured bear is still wandering around. More info to share in upcoming post.

Won’t be long before moose activity starts picking up. I’ve been moving and adjusting cameras last week.

 

Jim

Moose activity Picking Up

 

Just back from a week’s camping trip. Checked trail cameras this morning, got some daytime moose footage  Bears are busy eating wild berries, especially blueberries—found  eight piles of berry-filled bear scat while bushwhacking. Most trail cameras are set up at bear marking trees, but bear activity has dropped since mating season ended. Now I am preparing for the fall moose rut.

 

Jim

Injured Black Bear Resilient !

 

One of my trail cameras recorded an injured sow on June 1st, with a male following her. The extent of her injuries became clearer when she appeared on a second trail camera on June 8th, revealing a top rump injury that could be road burn and a lower wound with a significant piece of flesh missing. It is possible the injuries resulted from a collision with a vehicle. On June 14th, the sow scent marked using her non-injured side, and on June 15th, she was videoed crossing a log bridge, showing agility despite her injuries. By July 3rd, footage from a fifth trail camera showed the wound healing and no apparent decline in her mobility or condition.

The reason for sharing this video is to show how resilient a black bear can be, Despite her injuries. She likely mated,  continued scent marking “ Gently rubbed on ritual scent marking trees, appears to still be foraging, and has put on miles wandering central Massachusetts. Hopefully, she continues healing and passes another TC to see her continued progress.

Jim

STOP – video graphic, showing injured bear!

https://youtu.be/L96iYigKDQg