Bears and cedar trees

[Al Dietz]

Has anybody ever heard of bears chewing bark off of cedar trees? I found a spot today where something had peeled bark off several cedar trees, couldn’t see tracks but there were lots of trails in the area which could have been bear trails. I wonder if bears might use the bark for their dens? 

[Bob & Pat Jordan's]

We have watched the little red squirrels peeling the bark off cedars.  They ball it up in their mouths as they peel it.

Sent from my iPad

On Sep 19, 2014, at 8:40 PM, "Al Dietz" <bur...@2z.net> wrote:

Has anybody ever heard of bears chewing bark off of cedar trees? I found a spot today where something had peeled bark off several cedar trees, couldn’t see tracks but there were lots of trails in the area which could have been bear trails. I wonder if bears might use the bark for their dens? 

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[Roger A Powell]

Dear Al et alii,

When you wrote "peeled" I must assume you do not mean simply chewed, which could be done by porcupines or snowshoe hares or beavers or other critters.

Black bears do peel bark from trees in the Pacific Northwest.  They appear to be going after cambium.  Bears can cause major trouble in orchards and plantations.  I have not heard of bears peeling bark elsewhere.

    peace , , , , ,

        rog . . . . .

Roger A Powell

Department of Applied Ecology
North Carolina State University
PO Box 918, Ely, Minnesota 55731

tel. 218-235-8808
e-mail: ne...@ncsu.edu
http://www4.ncsu.edu/unity/users/r/rpowell/WebPage/

	Husk at leve
		Mens du gør det.
	Husk at elske
		Mens du tør det.

			Peit Hein

On 19/09/2014 20:40, Al Dietz wrote:

Has anybody ever heard of bears chewing bark off of cedar trees? I found a spot today where something had peeled bark off several cedar trees, couldn’t see tracks but there were lots of trails in the area which could have been bear trails. I wonder if bears might use the bark for their dens? 

[Al Stoops]

Here's an article with a photo of a bear stripping cedar bark---about half-way down the page, with information about it in a nearby paragraph.

-Al Stoops

http://www.bearstudy.org/website/updates/daily-updates/1532-jewel-will-get-a-fix-feb-6-2012.html

On Fri, Sep 19, 2014 at 9:40 PM, Al Dietz <bur...@2z.net> wrote:

Has anybody ever heard of bears chewing bark off of cedar trees? I found a spot today where something had peeled bark off several cedar trees, couldn’t see tracks but there were lots of trails in the area which could have been bear trails. I wonder if bears might use the bark for their dens? 

--

[Steve Wilson]

Northern flying squirrels also strip the inner bark from cedar trees and use it to line their nest. Of course, their doing so wouldn’t leave much of a mark compared to a bear.

[Joe Sausen]

These photos were taken along the St.Croix River near Grantsburg WI.  There were many trees along the hiking trail that had been stripped.  It must have been a pretty good sized bear to reach up 6 feet and take a bite out of the tree.  The two front teeth marks are between my fingers in the second picture.  There is also an active bear trail along the MN side of the river near Taylors Falls.  A cedar power pole along the trail has had at least 2 inches of the side of it chewed away. I just assumed that they were marking their territory...?