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Message Alaska Department of Fish and Game, Division of Wildlife Conservation, Issue No. 5 Living in Alaska, at some point you will see a bear, but even if you don’t you will never be far from one. Did you know? Alaska is the only state where all 3 North American bears are found! Alaska is home to black bears, brown bears and polar bears. Bears are very important to the ecosystem and to Alaska’s Communities. Inside this issue you can learn about the life cycle of bears, bear behavior, and how to live responsibly in bear country. Brown Bears, Black Bears and Polar Bears, Oh My!What’s Inside Alaska’s ree BearsExciting Research Bear Behavior Living With BearsFun ActivitiesUSFWSAlaska’sWi l d Wo n ders

2Brown Bears and Black Bears Have A Lot in Common! Both brown and black bears hibernate. is means that they spend the winter in dens made in hollow or fallen trees, rock cavities or dig dens in hill sides. During hibernation brown and black bears do not eat, drink, urinate or defecate but may wake up if disturbed. ey obtain energy from the fat that built up from eating constantly all summer. Mothers give birth to their young while still in dens. Mother bears, or sows, give birth to two cubs on average, but can give birth to three or even four cubs. Baby bears can weigh as little as half a pound, that’s about as much as a grapefruit! Can you spot the differencesBrown bears are large animals that require lots of personal space. ey wander about, looking for food in open elds, mountain highlands, forests and the open tundra during spring and summer months. Adult brown bears tend to spend most of their time alone, but along streams lled with nutritious salmon, bears oen sh in the company of other bears. Brown BearsA Year in the Life of a Bear!Summer Fall SpringWinterBears emerge from their dens and begin eating the rst green plants that surfaceMost bears are sleeping, but mothers are giving birth to their cubs while in the denBears are fattening up and preparing their densBears are eating fresh berries and gaining weight Blonde Brown BearBrown bears are brown right? Not always! Brown bears, also known in Interior Alaska as grizzly bears, come in a wide variety of colors. Brown bears can range in color from light cream to almost black. Brown bears, standing at about six feet tall on its hind legs, have an average weight of 800 pounds. at’s heavier than a piano! eir long, sharp claws usually measure about three inches long. Brown bears also have a hump of muscle between their shoulders. is, combined with large paws and long claws, give brown bears the power to be excellent diggers.Sniff...Sniff....I can smell food over a mile away!

Glacier BearBrown bears and black bears are both omnivores. ey are opportunistic and will eat almost anything that is available to them. eir diet consists of insects, plants, berries, sedges, sh and sometimes mammals such as deer or moose. Bears are a key part of the ecosystem. When bears eat salmon, they oen drag their catch out of the water to eat them. Salmon leovers feed other animals and also put nutrients into the soil. Cinnamon Bear3between the brown and black bear?Black bears have sharply curved claws that can be up to one and a half inches long, allowing them to climb trees in the forests where they live. Black bears can also be found on beaches in early spring, in meadows in the summer, and by salmon streams in late summer and fall when the sh are running. Black BearsDid you know? Not all black bears are black! Just like brown bears, black bears come in many dierent colors. ey can range from white, brown or cinnamon, blueish white (glacier bear), white to black! True white black bears are very unique and rarely seen. ey are known to the local Tlingit (pronounced Klin-ket) people of Southeast Alaska as Spirit Bears. Black bears have longer and less rounded ears than brown bears. eir faces are straighter from their forehead to their nose. Black bears are the smallest of Alaskan bears, at about ve feet tall when standing and weigh on average about 350 pounds. Black bears have good eyesight and hearing, but are also equipped with an amazing sense of smell!

Ahh... Cold and chilly, just the way I like it!USFWS4The plight of the polar bear.Due to increasing temperatures, polar bears are being forced to adapt to their quickly-shrinking environment. e melting sea ice is forcing polar bears to move farther inland and is making it more dicult to obtain the food they need to survive. e decreasing sea ice has also increased how oen polar bears and brown bears meet. is, although rare, has resulted in cross breeding, producing hybrid bears nicknamed “pizzly bears” and “grolar bears”! A polar bear’s diet is mainly ringed seals and bearded seals. They also scavenge on whale carcasses, bird eggs, walrus and sometimes beluga whales!Brrr! Its cold up here. Polar bears live in the remote Arctic environment, and are always associated with snow and ice.Polar BearsDid you know? A polar bear is a marine mammal! at’s right! Polar bears are protected by the Marine Mammal Protection Act and the Endangered Species Act. Polar bears rely on the arctic sea ice and are specially adapted for living in a marine environment. ey blend in with the ice and snow with a warm white coat. Polar bears also have large, paddle-like feet to propel them through cold water and help distribute their weight on ice. e average male weighs about 1,000 pounds, and females weigh about half as much. e largest polar bear was eleven feet tall when standing and weighed 2,210 pounds! USFWSHave you heard? Unlike brown and black bears, most polar bears stay awake throughout winter. Pregnant females will make a den in the snow to give birth to her cubs, and then emerge around late February. Other polar bears typically don’t make dens like pregnant females. Instead they roam the snow and ice year-round in search of food. Wow! A polar bear’s hair may appear white, but the hair has no color at all. Each hair is a hollow tube adapted to absorb the sun’s rays where the heat is then trapped by black skin.

1234Bear doesn’t know what you are and is using all of its senses to try and gure it out. ABear is defensive with ears laid back against the head, mouth open and vocalizing. BBears show stress by walking away while vocalizing and frothing at the mouth.CBear is aggressively charging with ears pinned back against its head.D5Bear BehaviorBears are Predictable! In many ways, a bear’s behavior is much more predictable than you might think. A bear’s ears can be a good indicator of its emotions. Flattened ears can mean an angry or frightened bear, while ears that stand up can mean that the bear is curious and is trying to hear something better. Oen times bears may do a false charge. It may rush in close, then come to a screeching halt or avoid contact by going around the person or animal. And just like us, bears have personal space. You should never approach a bear, especially if they have food or cubs. Bears are defensive of their food and cubs, and may react when threatened. Always give bears plenty of space and remember to tell an adult if you see a bear. Bear TalkMatch each photo to the bear’s behaviorFind the answers on page 6 Beary nice to meet youWe can learn from bear behavior: Bear experts say you can learn a lot about how to act around bears by learning about how bears behave around other bears. For example, we salivate when we’re hungry, but for a bear, salivation can be a sign of stress! Compare Yourself to a Bear!Choose brown, black or polar bear Height:Weight: Claws: Favorite Food:Habitat:Behavior: You Bear

Click the QR code to watch Hey Bears! to learn more about how YOU can staysafe in bear country.Find more information atwww.alaskabears.alaska.govLiving
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If you answered “yes” to any of the questions pleasevisit www.alaskabears.alaska.gov and nd out howyou can make your home and neighborhood safer.ank you for your time and eort.Is there any trash outside your homethat is not stored in a bear-resistantcontainer, garage or shed?Do you put trash out on the curbbefore 4 a.m. on the morning ofgarbage pickup?Do you put sh or meat scraps in yourcompost pile?Are there any bird feeders out duringthe months when bears are most likelyto be awake (April 1 - November 15)?Is there any leover birdseed on theground?Is there any pet food stored outsidewhere bears might get it?Do you have any livestock on yourproperty (chickens, ducks, goats,horses, beehives) that are not protectedby an electric fence?Do you keep sh waste outside yourhome in non bear-resistant garbagecans?Do you have any shy-smelling gear orsh cleaning tables outside your home?Do you leave your sh smokerunattended?Can you identify itemsaround your home thatmight attract bears?
Yes NoYes NoYes NoYes NoYes NoYes NoYes NoYes NoYes NoYes NoDo you have any freezers outside thatmight provide easy access for bears?Does your BBQ have leover food orgrease on it?Yes NoYes NoKeepingbears away fromhuman food is perhapsthe most important thingwe can do to preventconflicts and encountersbetween bears andpeople.









in
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CountryAlaska is Bear Country!Whether you live in a rural or urban area ofAlaska you are in bear country. e privilegeof living in a state with large predators comeswith responsibilities. If it is keeping the garbageat your home secure or maintaining a cleancampsite, your behavior can inuence bearbehavior and keep them out of trouble. It isimportant to learn as much as you can aboutliving and camping in bear country so that you,and the bears, can live safely together.Many bears live in Alaska and many peopleenjoy the outdoors, but surprisingly few peoplesee bears and only a few of those are everthreatened by a bear. Bears arecurious, intelligent, naturally-shyanimals and prefer to avoid people.However, conicts can arise whenthey are attracted to human foodor garbage or when we surprisethem while out on the trail.Respecting bears and learningproper behavior can help youavoid conict—and help youknow how to react if you do seea bear.6Bear Talk Answers from page 51-B, 2-D, 3-A, 4-C

Living and Traveling Keeping bears away from human food is perhaps the most important thing we can do to prevent conflicts and encounters between bears and people. in Bear Country7Bear Talk Answers from page 5 1-B, 2-D, 3-A, 4-CWhen you surprise a bear up close in the wilderness, stay calm. DON’T TURN AND RUN. Move closer to your friend. e bear may come closer, stand upright to get a better look, or circle around you to get your scent. Wave your arms slowly and talk calmly to the bear. Help it gure out what you are.e bear may talk to you in its own language... popping its teeth, hung and growling... telling you to go away. Whoa bear... easy bear...Leave slowly, staying close to your friend... always facing the bear. If the bear follows you, stop, stand your ground, and call for help. Enjoy watching bears from a safe distance. You surprised a bear, now what? • Make noise, talk or sing loudly so you don’t surprise a bear. • Hike in a group; groups are easier for bears to detect.• Stay alert and look for signs of bears.• Never approach or crowd bears; respect their “personal space.”• Keep food, garbage and other attractants out of reach of bears. • Stay calm during a bear encounter, talk and wave your arms. Don’t run!Fast Facts for the Fielde above drawings and information are from the Be Bear Aware coloring book, courtesy of Environment Yukon.

21348Biologists across Alaska areusing innovative techniquesto learn about bears. You canread more about these excitingprojects in the ADF&G Fishand Wildlife News byclicking the QRCode.4. Nests or Dens?When you think bear den, you probablydon’t picture a nest. Black bear researcherson Prince of Wales Island discovered thatbears can be nesters! Read more at theADF&G Fish and Wildlife news underMarch 2015: Nesting Bears: Bear Dens onPrince of Wales IslandInvestigatingBears2. The Nose Knows!Karelian bear dogs are being used to sniout polar bear dens in northern Alaska. etrained scent dogs use their keen sense ofsmell to detect faint bear smells coming fromdeep inside snow dris. Read more at theADF&G Fish and Wildlife news under May2015: Detecting Grizzly and Polar Bear Dens:on Alaska’s North Slope Alaska Department of Fish and Game, Division of Wildlife Conservation    Issue No. 53. Traveling BearsHave you ever wondered how fara bear travels during the summer,and where it dens in the winter?Read more at the ADF&G Fishand Wildlife news under October2014: Malaspina Bears1. A Bear’s Eye ViewIt’s no secret that black bears and brown bears liveand thrive in Anchorage, Alaska’s largest city. Butwhere do they go and what do they do? Find outby scanning the QR code with a smart phoneCreate Your Own Story Map!Where:Activity:Type of Bear:Time of Day:Season:Share your own bear story a friend’s, or use your imaginationWrite out your story!