Spotted on the Randolph Community Forest, Thursday morning, June 14: signs of a bear starved for a little attention.
“Someone was just here… I know it!”
Black bears often use resinous trees, like this fir at the junction of RMC’s Castleview Loop and Mount Crescent Trail, to mark their territory. The resin holds their scent; they’ll bite the tree or rub their back all over it. Biting and clawing a tree and shredding its bark is method for communication for the bears. The tree is usually in a highly visible spot, like a clearing or , in this case, a rather popular trail junction.
“My, what sharp claws you have…”
Often bears will use a white birch in a clearing– not for scent marking as in this case, but for visual marking. Trees in clearings or at junctions are ideal trees to mark, because their high visibility attracts the attention of passing animals. (In this case, a passing hiker and his dog!)