Bears don't hibernate

Via video uplink, students learn about bears' winter behavior
By JAMIE KELLY


Bears don't hibernate.

No, no they don't.

They hunker down and they get cozy and they live off their fat for winters at a time, but guess what?

"What they do is called ‘denning,' " said educator Alli Depuy to about 80 kindergartners at Rattlesnake Elementary on Wednesday morning, upsetting - just a bit - the supposed common knowledge held by even adults.

Depuy, an education outreach specialist with East Missoula's Alter Enterprises, appeared almost by magic on a giant screen in a kindergarten classroom via a remote uplink.

From a small studio with a green-screen background, Depuy showed the sea of little kids - they could see her, and her them - the winter sleeping habits of a bruin nestled into his den. Video footage of the bear stretching and sniffing out a rodent encroaching in his den and - gasp! - actually leaving the den pointed to only one conclusion, she told the children.

"Bears do not hibernate," she said. "They slow their bodies down, but they wake up. And they move around, and they even leave their den during the wintertime. So bears aren't really hibernators."

The event was coordinated by the Missoula County Public Schools district and Ryan Alter, owner of the company, which develops and builds high-tech devices for field biologists, including a patented remote bear trap, and records wildlife footage through dozens of field cameras.

The educational wing of the company links students from across North America with Depuy, who delivers classroom lessons from Alter Enterprises' tiny, green-screen-painted studio.

Wednesday's presentation was the first within MCPS, but won't be the last as the district pursues "21st century" education - real life meeting real students in the classroom.

The uplink was a teaching moment not just for the kindergartners, most of whom have been reading about bear "hibernation" from their children's book "Bear Snores On." But it was also a learning moment for the teachers, who themselves discovered that bears do not, in fact, hibernate.

"I learned something new today, too," said kindergarten teacher Emily Endris, after the hourlong presentation.

Using video footage from remote wildlife cameras, including some installed in makeshift bear dens, Depuy showed a skunk making its way into the den as the black bear slept, only to be scared off by the bear's awakening.

The bear also pawed at straw placed in its den, trying to uncover a wayward rodent looking for respite from the winter.

All of it means that bears do not always "snore on," despite what the kindergartners' book says. Sometimes they wake up, stretch for a while, or even leave the den looking for some easy food.

Ryan Alter and his company work with wildlife biologists, government agencies and schools, providing wildlife observation and classroom lessons - from kindergarten to college - for schools across the country.

"This is the culmination of a lot of research and development, and a lot of data collecting," said Alter. "We then put it together for education, kind of packaging it."

The company also has an energy and conservation component, and may also soon connect with schools for art education, as Depuy's background is in art.

Endris, the teacher, was happy that her students got a dose of reality to go along with the story they've been reading about bear "hibernation."

"I think the kids really got into it," she said. "We've been reading this story, so it was fun to see the real animals, along with the fictional story we've been reading."

I want to be the third hunter

Hunters attacked by grizzly in Madison County

BOZEMAN- Two men were injured when a grizzly bear attacked them while they were hunting over the weekend in Madison County.

Three men were hunting in a wooded area of the north fork of the Bear Creek near Cameron in the Madison Range on Saturday when they surprised a sow grizzly and two cubs according to Madison County Undersheriff Roger Thompson.

The sow grabbed one of the men but dropped him when his hunting partner yelled. The sow then went to the second man, picked him up and dropped him, then she and the two cubs ran off Thompson reports.

Officials tried to get an Air Idaho airlift into the area, but there were no open places to do so in the heavily wooded area. The men had built a fire and rescuers were able to locate them from the air.

At around 6:30 p.m. Madison County Search and Rescue, Fish, Wildlife and Parks and the U.S. Forest Service entered the area. It took rescuers about 3 ½ hours to get there, Thompson said.

One of the victims, a 16-year-old male from Helmville, suffered a bite to the leg and was unable to walk out. The second victim, a 41-year-old man from Manhattan, suffered a bite to the shoulder. A third man who was with them was not injured. Horses were used to get the injured men out of the area. They were taken to an Ennis hospital.

Thompson did not know if the men had bear spray. He also said there have not been any other reports of bear attacks in this area, but added it was a remote area with not a lot of access.

We have placed a call to Fish, Wildlife and Parks seeking information regarding the future of the bears. We will bring you more information as it becomes available.

"How can you not love this story?"

Wrangler, horse a hit on Letterman show
By RICH LANDERS Spokesman-Review

Erin Bolster and her horse, Tonk, receive warm applause after being introduced by Late Show host David Letterman.
Montana wrangler who saved boy from grizzly appears on David Letterman

Fans of heroes, horses, wranglers and grizzly bears got it all in one package Tuesday night on "The Late Show with David Letterman."

Black bear captured in a backyard in central Missoula

A small female black bear's ride on the gravy train came to a quick end Thursday morning when she was captured and relocated after foraging in town for a day, then taking refuge in the backyard of a Plymouth Avenue home.
For more of the story and some great pictures, see
http://missoulian.com/news/local/article_70db6d1c-da36-11e0-9e88-001cc4c03286.html

In wake of fatal Yellowstone grizzly attacks, Bozeman couple shares survival story

Thank God for the bear spray.
Without it, Kevin and Julie Boyer probably wouldn't be alive. Instead, they'd have likely shared the fates of two other hikers who were attacked and killed by grizzly bears this summer inside Yellowstone National Park. Full story at:
http://www.bozemandailychronicle.com/news/article_2944b5b4-d5c5-11e0-9c08-001cc4c03286.html

Michigan hiker killed by grizzly in Yellowstone

Michigan man, 59, killed by grizzly in Yellowstone
BY MATTHEW BROWN, ASSOCIATED PRESS


A grizzly bear killed a Michigan man whose body was found by hikers last week in Yellowstone National Park, officials said today.

The victim was identified today as John Wallace of Chassell, Mich.

Wallace's body was discovered along a trail about five miles from the nearest trailhead. Results of an autopsy concluded that he died as a result of traumatic injuries from a bear attack.

It is the second time a visitor to the park has been killed by a bear this year.

Authorities say Wallace likely died Wednesday or Thursday.

He was traveling alone and had pitched a tent in a campground on Wednesday, park officials said. Yellowstone Superintendent Dan Wenk has previously said that the hiker was found with a snack bar in his closed backpack, but that it appears the grizzly did not try to get at the food.

"We know of no witnesses to the event at all," Wenk said today. "As far as we know he was in good health and out enjoying the park."

Two trails and a section of the Hayden Valley west of Yellowstone's Grand Loop Road have been closed to hikers. Park officials asked hikers elsewhere in the park to stay on the trails, to hike in groups of three or more and carry bear spray.

Wallace's death comes after a female bear attacked and killed a 57-year-old California man in July on the popular Wapiti Lake Trail, several miles away from where the Michigan man was discovered Friday.

The female bear was not killed because officials said the sow was only defending its cubs and had not threatened humans before.

Rangers found grizzly tracks and scat, or bear droppings, near Wallace's body.

The Mary Mountain Trail is closed from March to June because park managers list it as "high-density grizzly bear habitat."

Park employees have been searching for the bear around the Mary Mountain Trail northeast of Old Faithful. That's the area where hikers discovered Wallace's body on Friday.

Traps have been set to try to capture the bear. Wenk said it would be killed if it can be linked to Wallace's death through DNA analysis.

Food is getting scarce and bears are getting hungry and getting ready for winter

"That bear can smell trash for 100-miles."

How to keep bears out of your yard

Some of the topics on this useful site:
How to Keep Bears Out of Your Yard
Bear Identification
Bears and Chickens
Hunting in Grizzly Country
Bear Aware Events

Emergency Contacts
911 or Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks at 542.5500

Bear snatches a backpack from hikers near town

Black bear snatches hiker's backpack at Rattlesnake trailhead
By LINDSEY GALIPEAU | (2) Comments
A sub-adult black bear took a hiker’s backpack at the main Rattlesnake trailhead Wednesday morning.

"If they had opposable thumbs, we'd be in so much trouble,"

A 650-pound Alaskan brown bear named Kobuk, known around the Yellowstone Grizzly and Wolf Discovery Center in West Yellowstone as Kobuk the Destroyer, spent almost an hour last week attempting to crack into a new trash can “holster” design. The can’s exoskeleton, fabricated by a welding class at the Anaconda Job Corps, passed the Kobuk test.

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VIDEO: Grizzlies go for the garbage

Grizzly bears attempt to bust a bear-resistant trash can in West Yellowstone

WEST YELLOWSTONE - A few months ago, welding students at the Anaconda Job Corps Center had the ultimate excuse for blowing a test: A bear ate their homework.
Last week, however, they passed. Their homework beat the bears.
And not just any bears. We're talking Kobuk the Destroyer, the most devious and persistent can-cracker at the West Yellowstone Grizzly and Wolf Discovery Center. And his buddy Sam, the 1,000-pound Alaskan brown bear whose CPR compression technique has caused heart failure in bear-resistant container makers.