07/12/11 Photos | Petra, Maine Wildlife Photos | Ken Anderson

07/12/11 08:17:45

Fri, 12 Aug 2011 23:39:28 -0400

Twenty-seven minutes have elapsed since this Maine black bear first made his appearance in this clearing this morning. During this time, the bear left the camera view for a few minutes at a time on a couple of occasions, yet the wildlife camera took one hundred and twenty photographs of the bear. With this photo, the bear is leaving for the day, but you'll see him again; tomorrow, actually.

07/12/11 08:17:44

Fri, 12 Aug 2011 23:39:28 -0400

These photographs were taken in a small clearing in the forests of Petra, Maine. You won't find Petra on a map but it's in the St. John Valley of northern Aroostook County, not far from the St. John River and the Canadian border. Nobody lives in Petra except for the bears, moose, deer, and other forest creatures that we will meet on these pages.

These and other photographs on this site were taken by a Primos Truth Cam 35 wildlife camera, which has been mounted on trees in the forest since before the snow melted this spring, and which has held up to one of the wettest springs and summers we've experienced. The camera will take still photographs or 10-second videos in any light conditions, using infrared or flash photography when necessary. To purchase a Primos Truth Cam, click on the Primos Truth Cam 35 image that you will see in the left margins of all of these pages. More expensive models are also available.

07/12/11 08:17:43

Fri, 12 Aug 2011 23:39:28 -0400

As black bears reclaim their former territories, people will encounter them more often, but that doesn't have to be a bad thing.

07/12/11 08:17:42

Fri, 12 Aug 2011 23:39:28 -0400

This Maine black bear will be gone for the day in three seconds, but the wildlife camera will take another three photos in that amount of time.

07/12/11 08:17:40

Fri, 12 Aug 2011 23:39:28 -0400

Of the five animals mentioned in the question posted on the last frame (bison, elk, white-tailed deer, moose, black bear), elk are the most dangerous, and bison have injured more people than black bears and grizzlies combined. Even white-tailed deer and moose have harmed more people than black bears. Of these animals, the black bear poses the least threat.

07/12/11 08:16:46

Fri, 12 Aug 2011 23:39:28 -0400

Which of the following animals is the most dangerous: bison, elk, white-tailed deer, moose, black bear?

07/12/11 08:16:45

Fri, 12 Aug 2011 23:39:28 -0400

The wildlife camera is going to present you with six more photos after this one, but the Maine black bear is on the move. In the next few photographs, he is going to walk around the marking tree, make a left, walk in front of the camera, then off the right side of the screen, and he won't come back today.

07/12/11 08:16:44

Fri, 12 Aug 2011 23:39:28 -0400

If you didn't know the bear was there, would you see the bear in this photograph?

07/12/11 08:16:43

Fri, 12 Aug 2011 23:39:28 -0400

A black bear that truly intends to attack you is rare. When encountered, a killer bear's approach will be deliberate, without growls or bluff charges. If you yell at it or back away, it will continue toward you. On the positive side, you are more likely to encounter a killer dog or a human murderer than you are a black bear that intends you harm.

07/12/11 08:16:41

Fri, 12 Aug 2011 23:39:28 -0400

See how well the black bear can blend into the environment. In this photograph, the bear is in clearing not far at all from the wildlife camera, yet it is nearly obstructed by a couple of ferns. If I were to glance at the picture without knowing that I was going to find a black bear in the photo, I would not immediately recognize it. Yes, three of its legs can be seen beneath the ferns, and a portion of its body can be seen, but I can also see a dark spot beneath the brush pile and I don't think there is a bear there. A couple more steps into the tree line, and you wouldn't see him at all.

07/12/11 08:16:17

Fri, 12 Aug 2011 23:39:28 -0400

What if a bear approaches you in the forest? What if you try talking to it, while backing away from it, facing it all the while, and it continues toward you? Unfortunately, the correct response may depend on familiarity that the bear has had with people. Has the bear learned to view people as sources of food or is the bear see you as being the food?

Some bears have become habituated to people, as people may have fed them in the past, of left food behind in campsites or picnic areas. This used to occur regularly in national parks, and still may be a problem wherever people and bears come together regularly. If you run into a habituated bear, it may exhibit a series of bluffs designed to scare you. The bear might stomp its feet loudly, or tear at the ground. It might huff or snort at you. You might hear a popping sound, or it may gnash its teeth together loudly and rapidly. It might even charge you, then stop short of actually making contact. These are not generally the actions of a predatory bear who intends to kill you. Most likely, this is a bear that may be frightened itself, and is trying to scare or to bluff you. In these circumstances, yelling might work, but only if the bear hasn't experienced this human response too many times before.

07/12/11 08:16:16

Fri, 12 Aug 2011 23:39:28 -0400

If you should encounter a black bear in the woods, don't run from it. Running from predator triggers a chase and attack response. Its an invitation to play a dangerous game and you can't outrun a black bear in the forest. Face the bear; predators like the element of surprise. Talk to the bear quietly, letting it know you are there. Back up slowly, but keep your eyes on the bear. Black bears prefer to run from you than to face you, so if the bear thinks that you are far enough away that it can slip into the forest, it probably will.

07/12/11 08:16:15

Fri, 12 Aug 2011 23:39:28 -0400

Most black bears are not at all interested in getting close to people. They are not a threat, and will go out of their way avoid you long before you are even aware of their presence. If you should encounter a black bear in the forest, the bear is probably going to run away from you. Still, bears pose a potential threat, and some of them are dangerous. The dangerous ones are rare, and are usually ones that have been provoked or baited. Bears that eat people are rarer still. There is not much to fear from black bears when you enter the wilderness in bear country. Black bears have attacked and even killed people, but a dog is far more likely to attack you than a black bear in the wild.

07/12/11 08:16:14

Fri, 12 Aug 2011 23:39:28 -0400

Black bears are not grizzlies. While grizzlies are less dangerous than their reputation suggests, black bears are far less likely to be aggressive than are grizzlies.

07/12/11 08:16:12

Fri, 12 Aug 2011 23:39:28 -0400

The black bear may have been curling himself into a ball, because three minutes have gone by since the last photo. Had he remained in camera view and kept moving, the camera would have kept taking pictures. It might be that he took a brief nap next to the marking tree. Now he's up and sniffing around in the ferns again.

07/12/11 08:13:12

Fri, 12 Aug 2011 23:39:28 -0400

I don't know what the black bear is doing in this photograph. Probably, he is continuing to sniff along the ground for whatever it is that he has been looking for, but it looks almost as if he is curling himself into a ball.

07/12/11 08:13:11

Fri, 12 Aug 2011 23:39:28 -0400

These photos were taken by a Primos Truth Cam 35 wildlife camera, which has been mounted to tree trunks in various parts of the one hundred acre forests of Petra, Maine since early spring, before the snow melted. The camera has been in the woods the entire time, despite an unusually high rainfall, including several fierce thunderstorms, one of which is occurring as I write this on August 14, 2011, and it has held up very well. The camera cost me less than a hundred dollars on Amazon.com and, the last time I looked, the price had gone up some but was still below a hundred dollars. Buying a camera from Amazon.com is less expensive than if you were to buy one directly from the manufacturer. To shop for a Primos wildlife camera, click on the Primos Truth Cam 35 image that can be seen in the left margin of each of these pages.

07/12/11 08:13:09

Fri, 12 Aug 2011 23:39:28 -0400

Attitudes toward bears are changing. In the early part of the 19th century, bearskin was a popular item, but the fur trade declined in the mid 1800s when the European market for furs dried up. With fewer people farming, agricultural bounties on bears have been largely dropped, if not entirely.

07/12/11 08:13:08

Fri, 12 Aug 2011 23:39:28 -0400

In the wild, a black bear can live to be twenty-five or thirty years of age, but very few do. In addition to hunting and poaching, bears sometimes die from starvation, drought and accidents. Nevertheless, black bear populations in the United States are growing. Bears were once thought of as varmints to be eliminated wherever they were found, and still there is a false perception of the dangers posed by bears. Statistically, you are more likely to be killed by one of the people living near you than by a bear in the forest. Yes, they are powerful creatures and no wild animal should be taken for granted but, with reasonable precautions, bears don't pose much of a threat.

07/12/11 08:13:06

Fri, 12 Aug 2011 23:39:28 -0400

The bear certainly spends a lot of time sniffing around this small white birch. The birch serves as a marking tree for bears, as you can see from the missing bark. High on the tree, you can see where a bear or bears have gotten up on two legs, in order to mark the tree as high as possible.