Black Bear Range Expanding?

[mink319]

I live in Putnam County in Southeast NY and in the past 5 years or so there have been reports/sightings of bears in the area. At first I thought this was ridiculous, but recently I heard that a bear was captured in Westchester County by the DEC and then released in Ninham Mtn State Forest, which is right next to Fahnestock SP. A few people I know who live near there have been telling me that there is a bear going in their garbages. Over the past few years it seems like the black bear range has been expanding in NY. Does anyone else know anything about this?

 

[snowshoe]

This is nothing new. It is happening all over. We have a large population of Blackbears in Northwest NJ. Over the years they are being pushed farther south. There has been sightings as far south as Trenton. It does not suprise me to hear that for your area. The main reasone their range is spreading is due to the increase in bear poplulation and lack of open space. Since they are getting more than enough to eat they are able to have more cubs. 20 years ago a mother would have 1 or 2 cubs. Today they are having an average of 3 and is common to see 4-5 cubs from the same mother. Since the bear population is increasing and there land is decreasing they have no choice but to spread out. This is probably why you see them more every year.

 

[cragger]

I live in Orange County directly across the Hudson. We have had pretty consistent & healthy bear populations for the 9 years I have lived here - don't know that they increasing though . Many of the bear sitings are 1 year old males from New Jersey being kicked out of the den in June and heading northeast for greener populations and those Hottie New England female bears.

 

[Jake]

Perhaps it is more a case of the bears RESTABLISHING their range. I seem to recall reading sometime that in pre-Columbian times, black bears were pretty much ubiquitous in what is now the US and southern Canada