A forest for all
American black bear mom (Photo by Gen Pintel/NCC staff)
"Bear!” My partner warned me, as I walked quietly with my head down after a long, hot day of hiking through a provincial park in southern Ontario. I didn’t see the American black bear that ambled out of the bushes a few metres ahead. We had all been startled. The bear ran ahead, while my partner and I slowly retreated. Suddenly, two cubs rolled out from the same bushes and ran toward their mom. The family took a few moments to look back at us then disappeared up the trail, leaving me with a pounding heart and an adrenaline spike.
After several minutes, we headed toward the park’s exit, which happened to be in the same direction as the sow and her cubs had been heading. Distracted by birds, we detoured along another trail to observe a northern flicker before I stopped and pointed toward a tree off-trail. The same bear was there, staring back at us. She ducked back into the trees; she was making sure the coast was clear to cross the trail and lead her cubs to shrubs filled with berries.
Knowing we needed to give this family space, we immediately headed back to our car. As I looked back, I was relieved to make out the far-away figures of mom and cubs now in the fields, eating berries.
Ontario is home to the second-largest American black bear population in North America. Bears need continuous forest habitat to accommodate their wide-ranging territories, as they search for food and denning sites. In turn, bears play important roles for biodiversity in those same forests. As they forage the land, their droppings disperse plant seeds. As they hunt, they help control prey populations.
Encounters like this one remind us how much space these species need to thrive and how crucial these forested areas are for both bears and humans. While this was my first bear encounter in Ontario, and a closer one than I ever would have expected, it likely won’t be my last.
About the Author
Gen Pintel is the communications specialist with the Nature Conservancy of Canada’s (NCC) communications team in Ontario.
