Bears in the Backyard
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Bears in the Backyard
Bears and humans have coexisted for millennia -- but never at such close quarters.
In recent years, an increasing number of "nuisance bear" cases have cropped
up in New Hampshire -- often because of the bears' easy access to tempting human
goodies like garbage and bird feeders.
Fish and Game scientists are trying to discover more about the habits and home ranges of these nuisance bears using radio telemetry and GPS technology. Wildlife Journal goes to extremes with New Hampshire bear biologists, who enter a black bear's winter den to collect needed data.
Although black bears are generally shy and usually avoid humans, they are opportunistic and will search for human food supplies when natural foods are not available. Maintaining a sustainable bear population in New Hampshire depends on minimizing human-bear conflicts. How?
For one thing, don't feed the habit! As snow disappears in the early spring, hungry bears leave their winter dens. Early spring offers the promise of abundant bear foods, but yields no such benefit until grasses grow, bulbs sprout and flowers bloom. Hungry bears lack the option to wait for spring growth. Although bears are generally shy and usually avoid humans, their need for food and their fondness for sunflower seeds often draw them to New Hampshire bird feeders. So, complete your bird feeding activities by April 1 each year, and don't feed the birds until late fall (the birds will do just fine).
For more information on learning to live with New Hampshire's bears, visit
www.wildlife.state.nh.us/Wildlife/Somethings_Bruin.htm.
Wild
Ways: Turkey Calling
To those who think wild turkeys only converse in gobbles, it's time to learn
the difference between a yelp, a purr, a cluck and a putt! Champion turkey
caller Gary Colburn teaches host Lisa Densmore how to talk turkey.
If you like to hunt or watch turkeys, you can never know enough about communicating
with them. Colburn, a seven-time New Hampshire State Turkey Calling Champion
and owner of Colburn Game Calls of Swanzey, N.H., demonstrates how to attract
turkeys without startling them using a variety of calls. He also shares with
Wildlife Journal ways of determining roosting sites and other wild turkey-tricking
tips.
Access & Archeology at Squam Lake
New Hampshire's lakes and rivers have a rich and colorful history. Since the
creation of the state's Public Boating Access Program, archeologists have found
evidence of native American fishing and hunting camps on the very sites that
today's anglers and hunters still use to access our waterways.
Sometimes, natural and cultural resources are one and the same. That's what was realized at Squam Lake, when on-site research for a new public access point uncovered arrowheads, hunting and cooking implements and other artifacts. The discovery launched a collaboration among representatives of the Abenaki Nation, N.H. Fish and Game and other state agencies, in an effort to study the site and minimize impacts while respecting and learning about the area's significant human history. Wildlife Journal visited with Donna Moody, the head of reparation for the Abenaki Nation, and with archeologists Gary Hume and Bob Goodbe to learn more about examining the past in preparation for the future.
This program segment depicts a project that was funded in part by your purchase
of firearms, ammunition, archery equipment, fishing tackle and motorboat fuels
through the Federal
Aid in Sport Fish and Wildlife Restoration Programs.
Wild
Places: Ponemah Bog
Ponemah Bog Wildlife Sanctuary in Amherst, N.H. is a 75-acre sanctuary under
the protection of the Audubon Society of New Hampshire. A mat of sphagnum moss
floats on top of plants that grew hundreds or even thousands of years ago.
Layers of peat below the bogwater make the water acidic, depriving it of oxygen
so bacteria can't survive... which means that whatever goes into a bog is likely
to be preserved for a long time.
Most bogs -- including Ponemah -- are giant natural sponges, filtering water, providing flood control and quietly supporting plants and wildlife you won't see anywhere else.
The wildlife you'll find in a bog most likely belongs to the insect world -- creatures like damselflies or even the ringed bog hunter (a very rare dragonfly). Ponemah Bog contains plants and trees like black spruce and tamarack -- plus a few fascinating carnivorous varieties. Since bogs are often low in nutrients, some species like the pitcher plant supplement their nutrition by feeding on insects -- snaring victims with tiny angled hairs inside a cup-like structure and digesting them in a brew of rainwater and enzymes.
The Audubon Society maintains a page about Ponemah -- "the land of the hereafter"
-- which includes a trail description and directions. See www.nhaudubon.org/sanctuaries/ponemah.htm.
Click
here to download a map of the area.
