Height Of Bear Activity

 

One of my new locations captured another collard sow with three cubs last week. It could possibly be the same sow with four cubs that I shared in April. I received feedback from one of my followers, they think there were four cubs in the video. I reviewed the video in slow motion and can only see three. I think the TC hickuped when the third cub jumped from the log. It’s  not  important, I try to stay as accurate as possible identifying new bears; I’m thrilled to have had a TC video the sow and cubs in a pleasing environment.

https://youtu.be/BTQ11WqCMos

Primetime bear activity !  So far, TC’s have videoed eighty-seven bears in May, with many TC’s still to be checked. I wouldn’t be surprised if bear videos exceed one hundred for the month.

YTD “ Different Bears” is now 31.

  The criteria I use to count individual bears and to keep track of total bear videos by location are:

1.      Sow with cubs count as one family group.

2.      If a similar looking bear triggers a TC in each area within one hour of the first TC trigger the video is not counted.

It’s not exact ,but I think it’s a good representation of the data collected.

 

Below are two examples of easily identifiable bears.

 Jim

Bears are pretty hardy animals and can usually overcome mange

Very easy to identify

Missed Opportunity With Trail Camera

 

I have a perfect location to set TC’s that has a fallen snag, that slightly cuts the corner on the edge of a beaver pond. Bears like to log-walk, and this log bridge attracts them every time. I didn’t set there last year due to “ People Issues”. It’s such a good spot, I thought I would give it another try this year. I missed a top-notch video opportunity because only one TC was set. In previous years, two were always set, one facing east and the other west. There is a sow and one yearling ahead of the two yearlings on the log bridge in the cover picture. There is a snag  just out of view to the left. When I last  checked the set on April 22^nd the snag had not been disturbed. I’m Hoping to video a future bear that shows interest in the dugout area on the tree. I got a bit creative ( I think lol ) with a new set. Hopefully bears will travel along the log bridge and continue digging for insects.

Jim

Snag torn into by a bear searching for insects

Hopefully this setup will video a bear digging into the snag 

Bear Activity Continues To Pickup !

 

One of the new areas I set up trail cameras (TC’s)  last month has had quite a bit of bear activity. Two TC’s were set in a wetland with visible sign of skunk cabbage leaves being foraged on and fresh bear scat. The swamp has mountain laurel on the east side with a game trail skirting the edge of the swamp. The first TC was set hoping to catch bears moving along the swamps edge foraging on skunk cabbage. The second TC was set on a small old scent tree with a visible bear bite mark on it. Both TC sets have been active ! There are three bears in the area,  sow with one yearling, a younger bear with blue ear tag and a larger bear assumed to be a boar. The TCs were set April 20^th. On April 21^st, a yearling climbed the tree ( cover pic)  in front of the TC. Also , a second bear climbed the same tree  on April 22^nd. On May 2^nd, a large boar wandered through showing no interest in the tree that the bears had climbed. I’m not sure why the bears did that. It will be interesting to see if the tree has been climbed a third time with the next SD card check.

           

All my TC’s have been busy in North Central MA capturing black bears on the move. Of the twenty locations I have set up, nineteen  or 95%  have had bear activity, The one site that had no activity was a “ role of the dice” when setting it up. . There was nothing in the area to draw bears. The landscape was ascetically pleasing, and I was hoping to get a bear or two passing through. I pulled those TC’s , they’ll be better used elsewhere.

As of this morning my trail cameras have videoed 25 different bears.

Jim

Bear Activity Very Good !

 

Meet Scar, he ( assumed at this point) has a curved scar on his butt. His first crossing of this beaver dam was on April 16^th and is the only bear to trigger a trail camera in the area so far this year. Last Thursday after checking SD cards I bushwhacked around the swamp and found a bear scent marking tree with a small fresh bite mark on it. I didn’t think much about it until later in the day. With all the TC bear sets that I have made this year , this is the first area with fresh bear sign. On Friday morning I hiked back in with a TC to set up on the bite tree, was I surprised, to see the size of the bite mark now . 

Bite mark on Thursday

 The bear had visited the tree since my visit yesterday morning. 

Bite mark on Friday

It’s likely Scar who scent marked the tree on both days given its proximity to the beaver dam.

It will be interesting to see how many bears visit this site.

Jim

 

This scent marking post (snag) was found during the winter of 2025 while tracking a fisher. I was surprised to see  this snag was a communal scent post with a variety of different mammals leaving there scent, mice , longtail weasel, raccoons, foxes, and fishers. I often wondered why a coyote , bear or bobcat didn’t visited the scent post. Several weeks back, I pulled the trail camera and when reviewing the SD card was surprised to see what animals showed up.

Bear seems to be interested in the scent post.

The male fisher only visited the scent post a few times in 2026, and no female fishers visited the site at all. Likely the deep soft snow kept fishers travelling through the treetops, I will put another TC back out at this location later this year.

Male fisher checks scent post without leaving scent

The bobcat ( cover pic) was the first ever to visit this site (snag) leaving a quick spritz of urine. The bear didn’t leave any scent but appeared inquisitive.

I now have twenty “ TC Bear Locations” with eight of them ( 20%) having at least one bear passing by a trail camera this year. As of April 25^th, eleven individual bears have been videoed. The goal for the year is thirty-five bears. We are off to a good start.

Jim

 

Soon To Be On There Own

 

The cover picture with the family of three bears will be disbanding soon. With the upcoming mating season, the sow will send these  yearling cubs off on their own  soon, as she will be an eligible candidate during this  Springs mating cycle. Massachusetts prime  bear mating season typically starts mid-May to mid-June.

The two yearlings were born in January 2025. The first time these bears passed one of my trail cameras was in early June of 2025. The sow is small and has shown that she has the protective instinct to raise and keep both bear cubs safe for a year and a half in an area with many bears.

I always enjoy finding the first fresh bear sign of the year. This morning while making TC sets, I noticed a large bear scat pile, then a second. They were full of green matter suggesting that the bear had found a skunk cabbage patch. The bear also tore into a snag and rotten logs. A scent marking tree close by had fresh bite marks on it. I set a trail camera to watch the activity around the tree.

Jim

Bears On The Move - Off To Good Start

 

I was able to visit most of my TC sets last week to make final adjustments, and glad that I did. Most locations needed cleanup from the recent high winds with two sets having blown over trees in front of the cameras. I also moved two TC’s after reviewing full SD cards with nothing but squirrels on them .

Six  different bears have triggered TC’s so far this year with two of them coming from one of the new locations ( pic above). No sow with this year’s cubs  have passed any of my trial cameras.

I was glad to see skunk cabbage starting to sprout. Find a remote skunk cabbage patch and you’ll likely find signs of bears foraging.

No shortage of ticks this year. Treating clothes with Permethrin helps, but you still need to be mindful. I still wear long johns , pulling my socks over the bottoms and tucking in my shirt. I also wear gaiters treated with Permethrin.

Well , it’s great to be out each morning checking trail cameras and I am looking forward to seeing what adventures 2026 holds.

Jim