The Bear's Den LbNA #57296
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Add Location| Owner: | Adoptable |
|---|---|
| Plant date: | Mar 20, 2011 |
| Location: | Ansonia Nature and Recreation Center |
| City: | Ansonia |
| County: | New Haven |
| State: | Connecticut |
| Boxes: | 1 |
| Planted by: | BHS, Pack 24, Den 3 Bears  |
|---|---|
| Found by: | Traveln Turtle |
| Last found: | Mar 16, 2018 |
| Status: | FFFFFFFFF |
| Last edited: | Mar 20, 2011 |
This letterbox placed by the Booth Hill School, Cub Scout Pack 24, Den 3 "Bears". Hope you enjoy the Bear Facts!
Find driving directions at: ansonianaturecenter.org/drivingdirections.html
Bear Fact: The black bear is a stocky animal with short, thick legs. It is the smallest North American bear. In Connecticut, adult males, or boars, normally weigh from 150 to 450 pounds, while females, or sows, weigh from 110 to 250 pounds. Yearlings weigh 45 to 100 pounds. Adults are 5 to 6 feet long.
From the north-east corner of the parking lot, begin by walking down the gravel road to the left of the Nature Center building and main playground. It passes between the ball fields and then a picnic pavilion on the left. The road comes to an end but continue walking straight on the grass and into the woods where you see the large sign at the trail entrance, “Raptor Woods”. The trail is blazed with a WHITE DOT ON A GREEN BLAZE.
Bear Fact: Black bears are generally shy and secretive and usually fearful of humans. However, if they regularly find food near houses and areas of human activity, they can lose their fear of humans. Unlike grizzly bears, black bears are seldom aggressive toward humans.
Follow the trail North to a place where the trail splits and a tree is marked with a double blaze. Follow the trail to the right into the pine forest (the ground will be covered with pine needles and pine cones.)
Bear Fact: Black bear habitat is forestland, usually with deciduous and coniferous trees, as well as streams, swamps, and rock ledges. Bears prefer areas with thick understory vegetation and abundant food resources. Mature forests provide soft and hard mast (e.g., acorns) in late summer and fall. Wetlands are particularly important in spring when emerging plants are one of the few available foods. Bears are omnivorous; they eat grasses, forbs, fruits, nuts, and berries. They also will seek insects (particularly ants and bees); scavenge carrion, and raid bird feeders and garbage cans. Bears occasionally will prey on small mammals, deer, and livestock.
Follow the trail just a little farther to a place where you see the boundary fence on the left and the fence makes a 90 degree turn to the North. There will also be a large pile of rocks on the left. On the trail, just past the pile of rocks, is a large stone in the middle of the trail. Standing on the large stone at 310 degrees and 50 paces is a pile of rocks and underneath you will find the “Bear’s Den.”
Bear Fact: Black bears are impressive animals. Even a long-distance glimpse of one foraging in a woodland is an unforgettable experience for most outdoor enthusiasts. However, glimpsing a bear in Connecticut was once unlikely because bears were extirpated from the state by the mid-1800s. Since then, bears have made a comeback. Their return is due, in part, to the re-growth of forestland throughout the region following the abandonment of farms during the late 1800s. Beginning in the 1980s, the DEP Wildlife Division had evidence of a resident black bear population. Since then, annual sighting reports have increased dramatically, indicating a rapid increase in the bear population. With the number of bears increasing in the state, it is important for residents to learn the facts about black bears and how to coexist with them. Much of Connecticut’s landscape is now forested and is suitable for black bears. The rapid increase in the bear population between the 1980s and early 2000s is expected to continue. As the bear population expands, interactions between humans and bears will increase. People should learn what to do if they see a bear and how to avoid unnecessary conflicts by keeping food away from bears.
If you see a bear:
Enjoy it from a distance.
Advertise your presence by shouting and waving your arms or walk slowly away.
Never attempt to feed or attract bears.
Report bear sightings to the Wildlife Division, at (860) 675-8130. http://www.depdata.ct.gov/wildlife/sighting/bearrpt.htm
Find driving directions at: ansonianaturecenter.org/drivingdirections.html
Bear Fact: The black bear is a stocky animal with short, thick legs. It is the smallest North American bear. In Connecticut, adult males, or boars, normally weigh from 150 to 450 pounds, while females, or sows, weigh from 110 to 250 pounds. Yearlings weigh 45 to 100 pounds. Adults are 5 to 6 feet long.
From the north-east corner of the parking lot, begin by walking down the gravel road to the left of the Nature Center building and main playground. It passes between the ball fields and then a picnic pavilion on the left. The road comes to an end but continue walking straight on the grass and into the woods where you see the large sign at the trail entrance, “Raptor Woods”. The trail is blazed with a WHITE DOT ON A GREEN BLAZE.
Bear Fact: Black bears are generally shy and secretive and usually fearful of humans. However, if they regularly find food near houses and areas of human activity, they can lose their fear of humans. Unlike grizzly bears, black bears are seldom aggressive toward humans.
Follow the trail North to a place where the trail splits and a tree is marked with a double blaze. Follow the trail to the right into the pine forest (the ground will be covered with pine needles and pine cones.)
Bear Fact: Black bear habitat is forestland, usually with deciduous and coniferous trees, as well as streams, swamps, and rock ledges. Bears prefer areas with thick understory vegetation and abundant food resources. Mature forests provide soft and hard mast (e.g., acorns) in late summer and fall. Wetlands are particularly important in spring when emerging plants are one of the few available foods. Bears are omnivorous; they eat grasses, forbs, fruits, nuts, and berries. They also will seek insects (particularly ants and bees); scavenge carrion, and raid bird feeders and garbage cans. Bears occasionally will prey on small mammals, deer, and livestock.
Follow the trail just a little farther to a place where you see the boundary fence on the left and the fence makes a 90 degree turn to the North. There will also be a large pile of rocks on the left. On the trail, just past the pile of rocks, is a large stone in the middle of the trail. Standing on the large stone at 310 degrees and 50 paces is a pile of rocks and underneath you will find the “Bear’s Den.”
Bear Fact: Black bears are impressive animals. Even a long-distance glimpse of one foraging in a woodland is an unforgettable experience for most outdoor enthusiasts. However, glimpsing a bear in Connecticut was once unlikely because bears were extirpated from the state by the mid-1800s. Since then, bears have made a comeback. Their return is due, in part, to the re-growth of forestland throughout the region following the abandonment of farms during the late 1800s. Beginning in the 1980s, the DEP Wildlife Division had evidence of a resident black bear population. Since then, annual sighting reports have increased dramatically, indicating a rapid increase in the bear population. With the number of bears increasing in the state, it is important for residents to learn the facts about black bears and how to coexist with them. Much of Connecticut’s landscape is now forested and is suitable for black bears. The rapid increase in the bear population between the 1980s and early 2000s is expected to continue. As the bear population expands, interactions between humans and bears will increase. People should learn what to do if they see a bear and how to avoid unnecessary conflicts by keeping food away from bears.
If you see a bear:
Enjoy it from a distance.
Advertise your presence by shouting and waving your arms or walk slowly away.
Never attempt to feed or attract bears.
Report bear sightings to the Wildlife Division, at (860) 675-8130. http://www.depdata.ct.gov/wildlife/sighting/bearrpt.htm