Bud eating hazelnuts - 06-18-2007Most nuts are fall foods for bears. Hazelnuts are a summer food. In this 1 minute, 24 second flashback to June 18, 2007, 5-month-old Bud, brother of Cal and Lily, is eating green hazelnuts already 3 days before summer begins https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sqfopyOljuc. In the last few seconds of the video, you can hear him sniffing. Hazelnut husks are green like leaves, so they use a combination of smell and sight to find them.
I remember dropping off a bear in a new area and watching him go right to work sniffing out a patch of hazelnut bushes 30-40 yards away and then looking up into the branches to find the nuts. You’ve already heard the almost unbelievable story of a mother and cubs that put their noses into the air and quickly moved 41 miles to a tremendous hazelnut patch where they spent the next month.
Bud eating hazelnuts - 06-18-2007In the video, little Bud already has mastered using the back of his paw for a plate when cracking open hazelnuts. The shells had not completely hardened at this stage.
For spreading the good word about bears, JM Barnish and Jasmine Dudzick have stepped up as Speakers Bureau co-Coordinators in place of Trish Kirk who has done so much to develop the Speakers Bureau to reach the public and the Black Bear Box project to reach schools and libraries.
The goal is to see the Speakers Bureau grow with many speakers reaching out to folks in their own towns—to schools, community centers, libraries, church groups, wildlife groups, scouting groups etc.
We thank Trish for all she has done and JM and Jasmine for stepping up. We well know the dedication of all three of these leaders from getting to know them in Black Bear Field Courses they have attended.
Bud using paw to eat hazelnuts - 06-18-2007Speakers are needed. If you are interested in joining the Speakers Bureau go to the volunteer tab at www.bear.org and complete a volunteer application. Or email our volunteer coordinators at
Speaking of Black Bear Field Courses, we are expanding the courses to be a half day longer to work in all we want to do in 2015. In a survey, past-participants suggested activities they would like to do, and we’re making time to do it. So we’ll begin each course mid-morning on Sunday and go to late morning on Wednesday in each of the 8 weeks from July 5 through August 26 in 2015. It all means more bear time. We’ll provide details and open registration soon.
Thank you for all you do.
Lynn Rogers, Biologist, Wildlife Research Institute and North American Bear Center