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Description:The Black Bear is the smallest of the three species of bears inhabiting North America (black, brown/grizzly, and polar). It has the widest distribution on the continent and is the only bear living in the eastern United States. Because of its small size it is the only bear in North America to climb trees as an active adult.
An adult male averages from 250 to 600 pounds, and measures from five to six feet from nose tip to tail tip. A female is smaller, weighing 100 to 400 pounds, and measuring four to five feet in length. Males stand about forty inches tall at the shoulder; females seldom exceed thirty inches in height. The Black Bear is compact, with stocky legs; small eyes; short, rounded ears; short, curved claws; and a short, inconspicuous tail. It has a straight facial profile and a massive skull. In the Northeast, it is generally black, but it may vary from brown to cream-colored in some western populations. It has a brown muzzle, and occasionally a white throat or chest patch. The Black Bear walks flat-footed, and its broad feet leave five-toed tracks that sometimes resemble human footprints. The tracks of a female bear rarely exceed four and a half inches in width; a male leaves tracks up to six inches wide. Although it may appear clumsy, the Black Bear can run at speeds of up to 35 miles an hour, and it is an able swimmer. Smell is by far its strongest sense, although it does see in color.
The Black Bear is an omnivore, meaning it is an opportunistic feeder, with a diet ranging from grasses, roots, nuts, and wild fruits, to insects and occasional mammals and birds, to carrion and untended residential garbage.
Life History:The Black Bear has a two-year reproductive cycle. Dominate males may mate with multiple females in a season. Breeding season occurs between mid-June and mid-July before the feeding season so animals can store up body fat for their winter hibernation. During this time the fertilized eggs develop into a blastocyst which will remain free-floating in the uterus until late November, at which time, if the female is well nourished enough, it will implant into the uterine wall. One to four cubs are born in the den 45 to 55 days later (in mid-to-late January) and will stay there until mid-April when the mother takes them out to forage for food. Cubs will stay with the mother for around 17 months until she goes into estrus again. Female bears begin breeding at three to four years of age. Males can begin to breed at about the same time but younger animals are generally passed over in favor of older, more dominant males. In the wild, the Black Bear generally lives to be 12 to 18 years old, but may live well into its 20's, or rarely into its early 30's.
Habitat:The Black Bear requires forests for protection and food. It is amazingly adaptable to human presence, and it is able to survive in close proximity to housing developments and suburban areas wherever cover to escape exists. Bears prefer to live in mixed forests next to available food sources such as wetlands with emergent vegetation in the spring, cutover areas with emerging berry populations in the summer, and oak, beech, and hickory stands, or even cornfields, in the fall. An adult female's home range can be nine to ten miles square, while males may inhabit areas as large as 120 square miles or more. Although home ranges may overlap, the animals themselves will mutually avoid each other. Bears have excellent memories and may return to successful periodic feeding places years after their first visit.
Distribution:
Status:Generally favorable. The Black Bear is found in 43 states in the United States, in 29 of which they are considered abundant or common. They are found in all states in the NBII-Northeast Information Node.
"If all the beasts were gone, men would die from a great loneliness of spirit, for whatever happens to the beasts also happens to the man. All things are connected. Whatever befalls the Earth befalls the sons of the Earth."
~Chief Seattle of the Suquamish Tribe, letter to President Franklin Pierce
Great diversity
One hundred and twenty-seven mammals make their home in the region. They cover a wide variety of animals from mice and voles, foxes, bear, and deer, to the great blue whale. Mammals can be found in all kinds of environments, from wolverines high in the mountains, to cotton-tailed rabbits across the meadows and farmland, to porpoises and seals down in the bays and harbors along the coast. Of the 18 different groups, or orders, of mammals worldwide, 11 are represented in the Northeast (12 if you count humans).
This diverse range of mammals makes their homes in equally diverse environments. Mammals in the Northeast use many different forms of locomotion. They may fly through the air, burrow underground, swim through the oceans, or walk and run on land. Although they may be found in such a variety of places and have appearances that are so distinct, mammals have several characteristics in common that are not present in other classes of animals - some visible physical characteristics, some not so visible, as well as some behavioral and developmental characteristics.
The skin of mammals is designed to serve many purposes, with many specialized glands for sweat and scent production, among other functions. The predominant characteristic of all mammal species is that female mammals have mammary glands that produce milk for their offspring.
Complex features, inside and out
Mammals care for their young both before and after birth, devoting much time and energy into raising their offspring and propagating their species. Mammals are known as placental animals because of the unique functioning of the placenta, a temporary organ in the womb through which nourishment passes directly to the developing fetus. Other animals develop in eggs, laid either inside or outside the mother's body, and the system is self-contained in the shell; the parenting is often finished as soon as the egg is laid or hatched. Young mammals are completely dependent on their mothers for survival, before and after they are born. The weaning period may last for a few days, as in the case of the hooded seal, to a couple of months like the bobcat, to around a year or more for some whale species.
All mammals are warm blooded, or homeothermic, and are able to maintain a core body temperature regardless of environmental temperature. To assist with this, most mammals, particularly those living on land, have the distinction of hair or fur covering their bodies. Hair developed as the vestigial remnant of scales but has evolved to serve many different purposes for the different species. For example, the hair of porcupines acts as a defensive mechanism against predators. Beaver hair keeps them warm by repelling water. In some mammals, such as whales, the hair has nearly disappeared completely due to evolutionary trends. Mammals also have a four -chambered heart which is very efficient for separating the oxygenated blood and aiding in circulation. Although this trait is not exclusive to mammals it can help to maintain internal body temperature.
Another way mammals are distinct from other animals is the presence and use of certain bones and skeletal structures in the body unique to the class. For example, there are two small bones located in the middle ear that were once part of the jaw structure. In birds and reptiles these bones still function as part of the jaw mechanism, but in mammals they now assist in hearing. Scientists look for these middle ear bones when identifying mammals in the fossil record; also teeth. Mammals have specialized teeth adapted to different purposes. They only have one set of replacement teeth, so if too many of them are lost or damaged, the animal may die.
The mammalian brain is much more developed than that of any other animal, as seen by the presence of a neocortex. The neocortex is part of the cerebral cortex; specifically the six layered grey matter of the brain that is home to sensory perception, spatial reasoning, and the generation of motor commands. In smaller mammals, like mice, the neocortex can be quite smooth. In larger mammals, like dolphins, the neocortex can be much more developed, full of wrinkles and folds, which provide more volume and more complex nerve networks.
It is a combination of these different characteristics that set mammals apart from the other classes in the animal kingdom. In the Northeast, mammals are all around. They are a vital part of all of the different ecosystems they inhabit, representing a significant portion of the biodiversity in the region.
Description:The Eastern Coyote is a wild canine, usually about two feet tall and 30-50 lbs. It varies in color from gray to tan to brownish red, has long legs, a pointy snout, and a thick, straight, bushy tail which points down when it runs. It is mainly nocturnal, lives in a pack, and hunts alone or in small groups. It is preyed upon by larger mammals such as wolves, puma, and bear. The Eastern Coyote is about twice the size of its western cousins, and this size difference has been attributed to interbreeding with Canadian wolves, who are typically competitors.
Coyotes are omnivores and opportunistic hunters, and will eat whatever food is seasonally available. They will eat small mammals, birds, fish, insects, fruits, vegetables, and even trash. If the opportunity presents itself coyotes will prey on small livestock such as chickens and lambs, which can be an area of contention for some farmers. Still, in other farming areas coyotes are protected because they rid the area of small rodents and other pests.
Life History:Coyotes are animals that generally mate for life. Breeding season occurs from January to March but females are only receptive for a few days. Gestation takes about nine weeks, and a litter of four to eight cubs is born in late April or May. Pups are usually weaned by the time they are about six weeks old. Both parents care for the young, sometimes with the help of an older sibling. Coyotes use dens to raise their young, building their own or altering areas they find to suit their needs such as an old woodchuck den or an area under a shed. They may move from one den to another over the course of the season and may return to previous dens from year to year. Offspring are driven from their parents' dens sometime between fall and winter to make room for the next litter of pups.
Habitat:Although coyotes originated in the Great Plains and western North America, today they range throughout the United States, as well as Canada and Mexico. Coyotes began expanding into the Northeast in the early 1900s, following the decline of gray wolf populations in the region. As this rival was removed through hunting and habitat encroachment, coyotes were able to take advantage of the lack of competition and abundance of prey found in the area. This expansion was facilitated by logging and agricultural development, which left more open areas and forest edge for coyote habitat.
In the Northeast the Eastern Coyote can be found virtually everywhere, and has even colonized Cape Cod and the Elizabeth Islands of Massachusetts. Coyotes have also been seen in Central Park and Van Cortland Park in New York City. Despite being widespread, their densities remain much lower in the Northeast than in the western United States.
Home ranges are 5-25 miles square and are occupied by a mating pair and their offspring. Coyotes use scent markings to identify their territories. They prefer forested areas, shrubby fields, and marshy areas, but are highly adaptable and will live in densely human populated areas.
Status:HUMAN-WILDLIFE CONFLICTS: As with all large wildlife, coyotes come into conflict with humans when their territories are in proximity to or overlap with human settlements. Coyotes are opportunistic predators and have been known to eat small dogs and cats, as well as small livestock. Although coyotes do prey on "problem species" such as white-tailed deer and Canadian geese, it is unclear what effect they may have on these populations. While there have been coyote attacks on humans, almost all of these seem to have resulted from the coyote attempting to gain or defend a food resource. In some cases the coyote had become habituated to human handouts, and so associated people with food. Coyotes also track wounded animals and are therefore likely to come into contact with hunters that are doing the same.
FUTURE OUTLOOK: The future of the Eastern Coyote in the Northeast is unclear. Climate change, conversion of abandoned farms to secondary forest, the possible re-introduction of the gray wolf, and the perception of the coyote as a non-native alien species all contribute to a dynamic situation that makes prediction difficult.
