07/17/11 Photos | Petra, Maine Wildlife Photos | Ken Anderson

07/17/11 13:28:45

Sat, 20 Aug 2011 21:57:26 -0400

These photos were taken by a Primos Truth Cam 35 wildlife camera which has been mounted to different trees in the wilderness of Maine's Aroostook County since before the snow melted this spring.

07/17/11 13:28:44

Sat, 20 Aug 2011 21:57:26 -0400

The bears are gone for the day. This small clearing is a popular place for black bears, and we've also seen moose and other animals here. This place is between a quarter and a half mile into the woods off of a seasonal road that goes through the one hundred acres of Northern Maine wilderness we know of as Petra.

07/17/11 13:28:42

Sat, 20 Aug 2011 21:57:26 -0400

After sniffing the marking tree, this black bear, if it is a different bear from the one that was here a few minutes ago, is heading down the trail in the same direction that the other bear had gone. I should point out that this is within the mating season for a Maine black bear.

07/17/11 13:27:57

Sat, 20 Aug 2011 21:57:26 -0400

Just above the black bear's head, you can see a crook or bend in the marking tree that bears like, You can also see that bark has been stripped from the tree up high, as well. Bears sometimes stand on their back legs to reach as high in the tree as possible in order to leave claw marks.

07/17/11 13:27:55

Sat, 20 Aug 2011 21:57:26 -0400

For those of you who have not been following along from the beginning of these photographs, the small white birch that the black bear is sniffing is what is known as a marking tree or a bear tree. Although a bear may choose any tree, or even a utility pole, marking trees are most often birch or ash trees that stand by themselves near a well traveled bear trail. Bears also prefer trees that lean to one side or another, or which have a crook, as this one does.

07/17/11 13:27:54

Sat, 20 Aug 2011 21:57:26 -0400

This is a healthy bear, like the last one, but it looks shorter and wider. From the size of the ears in proportion to its body, I would guess that each of these two bears are only a few years old. Unless it's some trick of the light, the top of the bear's head is an odd color.

07/17/11 13:27:53

Sat, 20 Aug 2011 21:57:26 -0400

I don't think this bear is as large as the bear that walked off the screen a couple of minutes ago, and its fur was darker. Plus, the earlier bear payed no attention to the marking tree, while this bear seems primarily interested in the marking tree.

07/17/11 13:27:51

Sat, 20 Aug 2011 21:57:26 -0400

A little more than two minutes have gone by since a black bear passed off the screen along the trail to the right of the screen, and I don't think this is the same bear. This will be clearer, I think, in the next photo.

07/17/11 13:25:26

Sat, 20 Aug 2011 21:57:26 -0400

The bear is continuing along the trail that goes around the brush pile and into the forest on the other side. This trail leads eventually to a cedar swamp, but intersects several other animal trails along the way.

07/17/11 13:25:25

Sat, 20 Aug 2011 21:57:26 -0400

Black bears are solitary creatures, except for mothers and cubs. Bears generally forage alone, coming together only during mating season. In areas of high food concentration, black bears will tolerate one another but do not appear to seek out the company of one another.

07/17/11 13:25:22

Sat, 20 Aug 2011 21:57:26 -0400

It looks like the black bear is going to continue along the trail that he came in on. The trail goes around the brush pile and into the woods to the right.

07/17/11 13:25:21

Sat, 20 Aug 2011 21:57:26 -0400

The black bear stops to investigate near a salt block that I have placed on the log in front of him, then continues down the trail.

07/17/11 13:25:20

Sat, 20 Aug 2011 21:57:26 -0400

Here's our bear again. At least, I think this is the one I see here most often. The black bear doesn't stay long, though. He stops to check out the marking tree and then goes on his way.

Take a close look at this bear. He is going to walk off the camera and, in a couple of minutes, we're going to see another bear approach the marking tree from another direction. I don't think they are the same bears.

As you can see from the information left by the Primos Truth Cam 35 wildlife camera, it is July 17, 2011, and the time is 1:25 p.m. The temperature is 76 degrees Fahrenheit.

Two well traveled animal trees intersect in this small clearing. Directly behind the camera the trail continues on into the deeper forest, while if you were to walk straight ahead, facing east, the trail would take a turn to the right just beyond the tree line, to pass my compost pile, then turn east again, coming to a seasonal road that passes through Petra, Maine. The road is more of an ATV/snowmobile trail, and is not receive much traffic. In the wet seasons, most cars wouldn't be able to pass.