arizona black bears

Bear sign and wallow

This morning I checked a few cameras in an area where bears have been active over the last few years. Bears have likely been visiting this spot for ages before I placed cameras there. The first clue of recent activity were new tracks and marks at an old bear marking tree. The second was murky water in the spring pool and wet vegetation nearby.

©GregJoder

This bear seems to have a new injury to his left ear. It must be brutal out there. The stories he could tell… This will also help in IDing this guy if/when he shows up again.

Black bear action

The bear marking tree had some new visitors this week. While I was hoping to see the two yearling cubs again, the camera captured a different fun surprise, a sow with three new cubs (first video). The videos from the previous visit appeared to indicate via sounds that the two older cubs from the other bear family may have tried to climb a tree next to the camera, so last week I placed a second camera looking at that tree. The next surprise was a male bear using that tree as a marking tree (second video).