Bears fattening up in the Smokies...

[TNhiker]

Since there has been talk recently about bears and the smokies---the paper had this article today...


http://www.knoxnews.com/knoxville/ou...rries_31184664





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The bears in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park should be well-fed heading into the fall, according to initial field reports.
Park wildlife crews are seeing more acorns on the ground this year compared to last. Red oaks and chestnut oaks appear to be plentiful, and white oaks — the preferred acorn of deer and bear — appear abundant in some parts of the Smokies.
But the biggest boon right now is wild cherries, which biologists say help tide the bears over in August and early September before they make the transition to acorns.
“The cherry crop is unbelievable,” said park wildlife biologist Bill Stiver. “The bears are still hitting them hard and getting plenty to eat. We’ve had very few nuisance bear issues lately.”
Previously this summer park wildlife crews handled over 40 nuisance bears — twice the average of a typical summer. The cases typically involved bears searching for food in campgrounds, picnic areas and parking lots, and most of the problem bears were adult females that were seriously underweight.
Stiver said the park’s mast failure of 2011 caused the female bears to breed in sync in 2012 and produce a large number of cubs for 2013. The combination of a lean mast crop last fall and the demands of raising cubs likely resulted in these mother bears losing significant weight, which carried over through 2014.
“We caught an adult female in May at Clingmans Dome that only weighed 69 pounds,” he said. “That’s been typical throughout the summer.”
Weight gain in the fall is especially important to mother bears who need the extra fat to assure successful reproduction and healthy cubs. Park biologists expect good cub production this winter based on the abundant late-summer cherry crop and projected fall acorn crop.
Backcountry campsites 18, 24, 29 and the LeConte shelter and Spence Field shelter are closed due to nuisance bear activity. Those facilities are expected to re-open once the weather cools and the bears begin feeding on the park’s acorn crop.
On the wild hog front, the park only removed 107 pigs this year, way below the 285 to 300 average. Last year only 111 wild pigs were removed from the Smokies. Biologists say relatively poor mast in recent years may partially explain the welcome decline, along with the spread of pseudorabies — a herpes virus that affects reproduction in swine — that’s been introduced to the park from hogs illegally released near the park for hunting.



Copyright 2014 Scripps Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
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[Del Q]

Wild cherries........packing now!

Will be down there in a few weeks for Fall hike, looking forward to seeing Clingman's and getting closer to completing the trail to Springer in April.......then NH to ME

[sliderule]

On the wild hog front, the park only removed 107 pigs this year, way below the 285 to 300 average.

I reckon "removed" is more politically acceptable than the real truth. To be consistent, though, the park should probably refer to hog hunters as "wildlife relocation technicians."

[HooKooDooKu]

I reckon "removed" is more politically acceptable than the real truth. To be consistent, though, the park should probably refer to hog hunters as "wildlife relocation technicians."

Actually, they simply shot them, drag the carcass to where it's not visible from a trail, and leave it to rot.

[Teacher & Snacktime]

Glad to know the bears are "fattening up" on acorns and not hikers!

[barich942]

As a hammock camper I'm glad they are foraging for food and not going for the hanging burritos.