If you are offended by animal scat please don't read further. A photograph is displayed later.
I have talked to people on the trail at Gorman Nature Center who say that they are knowledgeable about Black Bears. What they say to me seems reasonable but I have limited experience in "bear country." I once backpacked in the Adirondacks State Park in New York State. The ranger told us they range in a 30 mile area. You must hang your food, including toothpaste in a tree that is inaccessible to the bear. I never saw one during my visit. I once saw a cub raiding a dumpster in Gatlinburg, TN. The people to whom I spoke said their dogs rousted a black bear at Gorman last fall. They did not get pictures.
I have spoken with a naturalist at the nature center and he said that he believes we could have a black bear. I started carrying a camera set up for instant action in case I come across one. I have a long lens on it and it is set on ISO 1600. I know about what I can do with it in terms of light. I have had success shooting birds, etc. I did photograph a large paw print this past spring. It turned out to be a large dog's print. I bought a book on animal tracks. I have looked at black bear tracks on the internet. I believe I would recognize a track. It has been very dry and there are no tracks at present.
I recently came across a pile of scat on the trail. It did not appear to be dog scat. I see a lot of that. I almost passed it by but went back to photograph it. What will I stoop to next? I came home and looked it up. I found a site which had scat of the black bear categorized as to what it has been eating. The one showing scat where the bear had been eating berries looked just like my shot. You be the judge. I think it is. Please comment if you care to.
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| Black Bear Scat |
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