Just lolling around! Bee-eating bear who's clearly got life licked

By WIL LONGBOTTOM

Does my tongue look big in this? Kala the Malayan sun bear lets her tongue loll out as she yawns in Miami Zoo, Florida

At first glance, this bear looks like she has taken a shine to the bark of the tree she is lazing about in.
But the amusing image is in fact the creature's best attempt at stifling a yawn as she woke up from a snooze at Miami Zoo in Florida.
Photographer Adrian Tavano captured Kala, a 19-year-old Malayan sun bear, as she emerged from a nap and opened her mouth.

Stop lolling about: The bears use their long tongue to scoop up termites from the crevices in trees

Sun bears usually employ their tongue, which can reach up to ten-inches, to eat termites hidden deep inside trees.
Mr Tavano, 39, from Miami, said: 'The bear exhibit is very nice and visitors have a clear view of the animals.
'Kala loves to sleep on top of this tree, which was about 20 metres from where I was.
'I think she had just woken up and had a yawn, so she is not licking the tree but it looks like it.'

source: dailymail

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How hundreds of bears were legally killed by hunters as young as 13 just a few miles from New York

By TOM LEONARD



Police and Park Police officers take photographs of the bear that broke the New Jersey state Black Bear record



Mark Rogalo had been hunting the same woods since he was ten years old, but even he couldn't believe his luck the other day.

The 52-year-old builder from Boonton, New Jersey, had been walking up a trail for just five minutes when, looking up towards a ridgeline studded with mountain laurels, he saw something 300ft away. Shiny and coal black, it could only be one thing, and a glance through his binoculars confirmed it — a three-year-old bear sitting on a rock, licking her paws after a good meal.

It was to prove her last. Moving cautiously up the side of the hill, Mr Rogalo ducked behind the trees and rocks as he edged towards her. He was 120ft away when he chambered the first cartridge into his semi-automatic 12-bore Winchester shotgun.



Prize kill: Trevor Rozmus, 13, at the weigh station with a big black bear



'The bear heard that sound,' he said. 'She got a little edgy, and I immediately chambered a second round, pulled up and shot. I just didn't have any time to waste.'

The 14st 4lb bear took a shot in the lung and a second in the hip but kept on charging down the hill before disappearing over a rock.

The hunter found her behind it and finished her off with a third shot to the heart. Now, there's 2.5st of bear meat in his brother's freezer along with a bear head which Mark doesn't know what to do with. 'I'm not into trophies, I hunt to relax,' he said. 'But it was an amazing day.'



Running for its life: An American black bear cub climbing a tree trunk in the annual bear cull in New Jersey



His animal was one of the first kills in a hunt that has become the most controversial in America — an annual officially-sanctioned bear cull little more than an hour's drive from New York City, which has incensed animal rights activists and some environmentalists.

New Jersey is popularly regarded as one big suburb of New York — best known to TV viewers for the mobsters of The Sopranos and the even more ghastly participants of reality shows like Jersey Shore.

But state officials insist it is overrun by bears — nearly 3,400 in New Jersey's 1,000 square miles of bear country, giving it the densest population of the animals in the States. Complaints about bear 'incidents' have soared. There have been nearly 3,000 so far this year, including 76 cases of bears breaking into homes, 57 livestock killings and two non-fatal attacks on humans.



'I hunt to relax': Bear hunter Mark Rogalo poses behind an animal in the snow



And so officials allow licensed hunters who have taken a two-day bear hunting course and paid the $80 (£50) fee to, as they call it in politically correct parlance, 'harvest' no more than one bear each.

Protesters, who tried unsuccessfully in court to close down this year's hunt, claim the cull is cruel and unnecessary — just a bunch of wannabe Davy Crocketts lying in wait so they can blast one of nature's most imposing creatures at point-blank range for a trophy.

Is it really that easy? Some 6,500 bear hunters head out each year but only 450 or so ever return with one.



I couldn't help wonder, however, what people would think of the hunters if they could see what was happening to the dead bears now — manhandled like sacks of potatoes, their once fearsome teeth pulled out for tests and their stomachs slit open to remove the innards and preserve the meat.

For me, the thrill of the chase had been replaced by the sadness of seeing just how pitifully small some of them were. One hunter had shot a cub. Shrugging his shoulders, he said he hadn't seen the mother.

Behind him, the next pick-up truck brought in a huge 25st female bear to be weighed and logged. It dwarfed the skinny 13-year-old boy who had killed it with just one shot. Trevor Rozmus had gone shooting with his dad after school. All the boys in his year hunted, he said, while all the girls were appalled by it. 'We're going to get the head and the paws mounted on the wall so it looks like it's about to attack.'

'Have you got bears in Britain?' Sergeant Birmingham of the New Jersey State Police asked me with a grin. 'Because you can take some of ours back with you.'

I shook my head. I think we'll stick with Winnie the Pooh.



source: dailymail

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Japan finds its own unique cure for snoring: A robotic bear that flips you over as you sleep

By ROB WAUGH



The bear works as a pillow with a built-in microphone - if it detects loud snoring, a paw reaches up to turn the snorer's head sideways



Many people who live with a partner who snores are willing to try anything to end the torment - nasal strips, inhalers, and even pyjamas with tennis balls sewn into the back.

Naturally, the Japanese were not content with such low-tech solutions to the problem.

A research group from Waseda University has come up a robotic bear that flips over people's heads in their sleep to open their airways.



The bear is used as a pillow, but has a built-in microphone.

As soon as Jukusui-kun detects a loud snore, his paw reaches up (gently, at least in the brief video demo on display), and pushes the sleeper's head to one side.

The motion should push sufferers of sleep apnoea - the loud form of snoring that can be dangerous not only to relationships but to health - into a position where they no longer snore.



The bear was shown off at the International Robot Show in Japan. Jukusui-kun means 'deep sleep' - and the robot is targeted specifically at snorers whose snoring inhibits their blood oxygen level, with a separate hand monitor sensing when blood oxygen levels drop.



The only problem is that not only do they have to sleep on a bear-shaped pillow with jointed robotic hands, they also have to insert their hand into another bear-shaped monitor which monitors blood oxygen.



Monitors are also built into the sheet under the sleeper - the idea being that electrical cords would disturb sleep.

The bear waits until low blood oxygen and loud snores indicate that the person sleeping on Jukusui-kun is snoring loudly, then the paw strikes.

The bear is not yet on sale - and whether or not a robotic paw reaching up to turn one's head over is any more effective than one's partner shoving the person across the duvet remains to be seen.



source: dailymail

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Pepperoni to go (and better hurry it up): Black bear terrifies customers as he drops in for a late-night pizza

By MAIL FOREIGN SERVICE

Self-service: The fully-grown black bear leans on the counter as he swipes the pizzas from Fat Tony's in Whistler, Canada

Traditionally, bears like nothing better than a pot of honey to dip their paws into.
But this hungry chap clearly prefers pizza.

And what a stir he caused at Fat Tony's joint in Whistler, British Columbia, as he helped himself to a takeaway with a difference.

Customers rushed to safety as the fully-grown 400lb black bear sneaked into the restaurant by the back door. They took pictures from behind the stainless steel counter of the bear gobbling up four freshly cooked pizzas.

It seemed his taste was for the vegetarian and cheeseburger options.


Late night snack: The bear arrived just before 10pm and sneaked into the restaurant by the back door, helping himself to four freshly cooked pizzas - with vegetarian and cheeseburger toppings

Having let himself in as the pizza shop got ready to close at 10pm, the bear was eventually shooed away by animal control, but only after he had eaten his fill.

Onlooker Nicole Smith said: 'I was at a bar across the road called Tapley's and I heard a massive commotion coming from across the road in Fat Tony's.

'I was with a bunch of people who ran out to say that there was a big 400lb bear in the restaurant eating pizza.


Don't mind if I do: The bear was eventually shooed away by animal control experts but only after eating his fill

'So we rushed across the road to check it out and saw the bear inside the pizza place up on the counter eating away at a pizza.

'It was having difficulty not slipping off the stainless steel counter but was able to reach up and grab all the pizza slices it wanted.

'He was eating slice by slice and had impeccable manners for a bear.'

'The bear ate all the pizza available to him and then after being allowed to film for a while we were asked to leave,' said Nicole.

'They established a safety zone around the restaurant while the authorities scared him away.

'He had a tag, so I guess they know him, although I haven't seen him around. I imagine that they will keep the back door closed more often now.'

source: dailymail

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Fight, fight, fight! Cute video of two bear cubs wrestling on road in Yosemite as tourists watch on

By MARK DUELL

Little scrap: Two adorable bear cubs were seen having a brawl by tourists on a road at Hetch Hetchy Valley in Yosemite National Park, California

These two might have been fighting, but nobody watching on wanted to intervene as it was the cutest thing they’d ever seen.

Two adorable bear cubs were seen having a brawl by tourists on a road at Hetch Hetchy Valley in Yosemite National Park, California.

A video of the loveable cubs was uploaded to YouTube by ‘Jmolyneaux77’ and it has already proven a hit, with more than 30,000 views.


Great video: ‘They're like puppy size,’ one onlooker says. 'I want one,’ says another person watching the cubs, who were fighting in front of a parked car

'That is the cutest,' one woman says, as the camera pans to show a bigger bear near the roadside watching what is happening.

‘They're like puppy size,’ another onlooker says. 'I want one,’ says one person watching the cubs, who were fighting in front of a parked car.

An onlooker says 'one of them is so small’, before joking: 'Oh please come to my car'. The cubs later go and follow an adult bear away from the road.




source: dailymail

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Bearing up: photographer stays up for five nights in a forest with mothers and cubs

By DUNCAN MACPHERSON

The Asbo twins: These two bear cubs were in a group of three families that photographer Jules Cox observed over five nights in a Finnish forest

These two bear cubs developed their strength by play-fighting each other in front of photographer Jules Cox.

Jules settled in a hide in the middle of a forest at 5pm and remained fixated on the wild brown bears until 7am the next morning.

He watched from just a few feet away as the cubs danced, fought and climbed trees in Taiga Forest in Finland.


High jinks: The two cubs continue their sparring in the upper branches of a pine tree

Jules, 40, from Bermondsey, southeast London, said: 'I was very lucky to have three mothers with very young cubs.

'The stars of the shoot are two first-year cubs, who delighted me with their antics. They didn't stand much more than a foot high.

'I nicknamed them 'the Asbo twins' as they were like a pair of teenage, happy-slapping, hoodies leaving a wave of destruction in their wake.

'They were a whirlwind of energy and seemed to spend all of their time play-fighting, climbing trees or digging up roots and vegetation. Their antics were hilarious.'


Claws encounter: One cub stays close to its mother as she remains alert to the sounds and smells of the forest

Jules added: 'The shots are all taken from small wooden hides deep in the forest.
'You have to enter each evening at 5pm and can't leave until the following morning at 7am.

'Many of my photos were taken in the early hours when the bear activity was at its peak.

'At the end of my five-day visit I worked out that I'd only managed five hours' sleep over the preceding nights in the hides because the bear activity was so fast and furious - not that I'm complaining.

'The brown bears of Finland have to be one of the best wildlife watching experiences in Europe.'


Spectator sport: A mother and two cubs watch the others at play


source: dailymail

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Time for a bear hug: Wrestling brown grizzlies square off in battle for best fishing spot

By Chris Parsons

When you're roaming next to a river with the largest concentration of brown bears in the world, it can be difficult finding yourself a square meal.

So when these two young grizzlies started to argue over a particularly good fishing spot on the McNeil River on the Alaskan Peninsula, the scrap quickly became heated.

The two Alaskan brown bears were seen rearing up in a show of strength in remarkable wildlife images captured by photographer Rick Sheremeta.


Out of my way: The young bears regularly square off against each other in battles for territory due to their high numbers in Alaska


The bears can be seen squaring up to each other on their back legs before wrestling in the river and continuing their scrap in the watery depths.

The McNeil River Game Sanctuary, 100 miles west of Homer, Alaska, attracts almost 150 bears in the summer, with as many as 74 observed at one time.

Photographer Rick said: 'The McNeil River is home to the largest concentration of brown bears in the world thanks to the abundance of salmon at the waterfall.

'But with so many bears there it's inevitable that there will be battles for territory.


Face-off: There can be as many as 150 Alaskan brown bears along the McNeil River during the height of summer


'They will usually have a face-off until one backs off submissively. It is quite a sight to behold and could almost be viewed as a strange sort of dance.'

Salmon are slowed in their movements by the falls so congregate there during their upstream migration to spawning grounds.

Since there are few rivers in the area with similar fishing sites, bears congregate annually at the river for an easy meal.


source:dailymail

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I'm ready for my claws-up: Photographer's incredible portraits of models who bear all

By DAILY MAIL REPORTER

Paw-trait: Amos, an impossibly adorable European Brown Bear, poses for a Jill Greenberg portrait in Kern, Frazier Park, California. The portraits range from cute to ferocious

Jill Greenberg, like every other professional photographer, knows that models can be hard to handle - with their Diva-like demands and hissy fits.

And, with the models she works with especially, getting them at the wrong time of day is literally like dealing with a bear with a sore head.

Greenberg's studio portraits feature animal celebrities, including many who have appeared in Hollywood films and commercials, at their most cute - and frightening.


Does my butt look big in this? The aptly named Whopper may not like the unflattering product of a photoshoot in Innisfail, Alberta, Canada. Too much hibernation last year, perhaps?


He work captures everything from baby brown bears looking adorable, to 10ft tall Kodiak bears looking a little less adorable.

Known for her ability to bring human qualities to exotic animals, the 44-year-old Canadian-born artist wanted to explore the mystery and depth of emotion behind some of nature's most dangerous creatures.

She said: 'I wanted to create images of these majestic beasts unlike anything we had seen before. I set up a studio outside, with my signature lighting set up - that I had used on my monkey and crying children series - to show the intensity and allow an intimate view of these powerful beasts.


Who's been a bad bear? Black bear Max looks like he's been given a thorough telling off, but Greenberg explains that some of her subjects are very tired by the end of a long day


'The project is known as "Ursine" and shows Russian black bears, giant Kodiak bears, a polar bear and baby cubs.

'Humans have a unique attachment to bears, many of us grow up with teddy bears and, sometimes we call big people bear-like.

'It was surprising to see them actually sit with their front paws between their hind ones, exactly the way stuffed animals do.


Playbear: Russian brown bear Cheyenne strikes a classic glamour-model pose - complete with its leg coquettishly thrown out to the side - during a shoot in San Bernardino Ranch, California


'Do you come here often?': With his lecherous wink and sly smile, Koda the grizzly seems intent on getting his paws on Greenberg, but it's clear that she only has eyes for the cute cub being bottle fed in her lap


Kodiak moment: Looking cute and cuddly is all very well, but Kodiak bear Ursula gives a frightening glimpse of what the creatures are capable of. Greenberg said her models would growl on command for treats


Or is it a Polaroid moment? Agee looks like she's about to read the news in this shot, taken in Abbotsford, British Columbia, Canada. Greenberg's painstaking set-up highlights the majesty of these amazing animals


'Also it has been collected by major museums and shown in galleries in New York and Los Angeles.'

The photographs have also been turned into a book, Bear Portraits, which has been popular.

Greenberg said: 'My goal was to convey depth of character and emotion. I think that I did that.'

source: dailymail

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Amazing images of the moment a brown bear fell asleep while trying to fish for dinner

By DAILY MAIL REPORTER

A brown bear takes a nap at the edge of a waterfall in Katmai National Park, Alaska

This bear got so tired of trying catch a salmon that he fell ASLEEP in the middle of a rapidly flowing river.

The confounded carnivore became so bored he slumped down onto his front on the edge of a mini-waterfall, using his paws as a pillow.

And despite his best efforts the huge creature left empty-handed - and probably hungry.


Bored bear: The giant carnivore is unable to stifle a yawn after several hours in which it failed to catch any fish


World-renowned wildlife photographer Marsel van Oosten captured the amazing moment the brown bear succumbed to a power nap after a long day's fishing at Katmai National Park in southern Alaska.

He said: "Even when the rivers are full of salmon, it still takes considerable skill and patience to catch one. And some bears are better at it than others.

'This bear was standing at the same spot for hours in a row and didn't catch a single thing.

'Eventually he got tired of it and decided to take a nap.

'This was the perfect moment for me to use a longer shutter speed to add some motion blur to the water to emphasize the passing of time and to strengthen the tranquil mood of the scene.'

source: dailymail

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Hiker survives mauling by grizzly bear in Montana national park

By DAILY MAIL REPORTER

Unpredictable: A female grizzly roams the wilds of Glacier National Park in Montana

Officials at Glacier National Park say a grizzly bear mauled a 50-year-old hiker who was able to walk for help.

Denise Germann, spokesman of the park in West Glacier, Montana, said the St. Paul, Minnesota, man was hiking alone from Many Glacier to Piegan Pass around noon Friday when he encountered a mother grizzly with an older cub.

She said the animal attacked and bit the hiker on an arm, leg and foot.


Big and wild: Glacier National Park is popular among hikers because of its natural beauty


The bear then shook the man before walking off.

The man had bear spray but couldn't use it in time.

Despite the wounds, the man walked until he met up with a ranger who called for help.
The hiker was hospitalized in Browning, but his condition was not immediately available.

He name was not released.

Germann says the trail from Piegan Pass to Feather Plum Falls has been closed as rangers investigate.

Park officials say cases of grizzly or black bears injuring people at Glacier occur less than once a year.


What to expect: One of the perils you face hiking in Glacier National Park

source :dailymail

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Neigh-bears from hell: Family helicoptered to 'polar bear jail' after straying too close to town hunting for food

By DAILY MAIL REPORTER

Rescue: Polar bears being carried off by helicopter after entering a prohibited zone

This is the moment a family of polar bears were airlifted to a new home after stealing food from bins in a nearby town.

The bears usually reside on Hudson Bay, in Manitoba, Canada for seven months of the year and come inland when the ice melts between July and November.

But wildlife officials decided to take drastic action when this particular family entered the prohibited 'control zone' in the nearby town of Churchill.


The polar bear 'jail' where the family were taken until the ice returns


The group were tranquillised and transported by helicopter to Eskimo Point - known locally as Polar Bear Jail - where they will now live until they can be taken back home when the ice returns.

Californian wildlife photographer, Suzi Eszterhas, captured the entire mission on camera.

The 35-year-old said: 'They had become problem bears so they had to be moved.

'This type of relocation doesn't happen very often but it's absolutely necessary when they start getting too close to people.

'Actually watching them be transported by helicopter is certainly not something you see everyday.'


Caught out: The bears are tranquillised before being removed after stealing food from bins



Too close for comfort: Churchill, Manitoba, where the polar bears had been caught stealing food

source :dailymail

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These playful bear cubs are having a tree-mendous time in the woods

By DAILY MAIL REPORTER

These brown bear cubs - thought to be less than one year old - wreaked havoc in the middle of Taiga Forest, Finland

These cubs - thought to be less than a year old - danced, fought and climbed trees as they built up their much needed strength in Taiga Forest, Finland.

The fluffy brown bear cubs were photographed by British photographer Jules Cox who pictured them from just a few feet away.

He said their antics were 'hilarious'.

Cox hid in a small wooden hide and only managed five hours sleep over five days as so many bears passed his hiding place.

The photographer, 40, from Bermondsey, London, said: 'I was very lucky to have three mothers with very young cubs.

'The stars of the shoot are two first year cubs, who delighted me with their antics. They didn't stand much for than a foot-high.


Bear knuckle fighting: These two fluffy brown bear cubs play fight each other as the photographer watched from just a few feet away


I nicknamed them the 'ASBO twins' as they were like a pair of teenage, happyslapping, hoodies - leaving a wave of destruction in their wake.

'They were a whirlwind of energy and seemed to spend all of their time play fighting, climbing trees or digging up roots and vegetation.


Young cubs spend most of their time play fighting, climbing trees or digging up roots and vegetation



The bear cubs entertain themselves as their mother looks on

source: dailymail

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Who does he think he is... Winnie the Pooh? Grizzly rescued after head gets stuck in a jar

By DAILY MAIL REPORTER

Stuck: The bear with a jar stuck on it's head weighed just 115 pounds when it was caught and treated by vets

After Winnie the Pooh, everybody knows bears have a tendency to get their heads stuck in jars.

But while the cartoon character managed to free his head from his favourite honer pot, this poor grizzly needed a little extra help.

The black bear was seen wondering the woods of Tennessee for up to three weeks with a plastic jar stuck on its head before it was tranquillised and seen to by a vet.


Pot: Winnie the Pooh was renowned for getting his head stuck in honey jars


State wildlife officers looked for the bear after reports he was caught in the jug.

The bear collapsed soon after in downtown Newport.

It weighed just 115 pounds, about half its expected weight, when it was captured.
A crowd gathered a to watch as experts inspected the animal and cut the jar off of its head.

It was eventually released into the Cherokee National Forest.
Wildlife officials believe the bear got into the jar while foraging through garbage.


Treated: the bear was seen to by vets before being released back into the wild

source: dailymail

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Get off my patch! How two tigers left with their tails between their legs after being scared off by a protective mother bear

By DAILY MAIL REPORTER

Having a bad bear day: A tiger comes face to face with one angry mother bear on the Ranthambore Tiger Reserve in Rajasthan, India


It's not often that two ferocious tigers have to beat a hasty retreat from a confrontation.

But it seems that the wrath of a mother bear protecting two cubs on her back was more than enough to scare this pair off.

Wildlife photographer Aditya Singh captured the encounter during a visit to Ranthambore Tiger Reserve in Rajasthan, India.


Wild thing: The bear raises on its hind legs to scare off one of two tigers that tried to attack at a watering hole in a nature reserve


At first, one tiger crept towards the bear which was drinking from a watering hole and looked ready to pounce.

Just in the nick of time, the bear spotted the big cat and immediately went on the defensive, bounding towards it.

Another tiger then leapt towards the mother bear - but quickly scampered off after she let out an almighty roar.

Mr Singh, 45, who lives on the outskirts of the reserve and visits daily, said he was stunned as he watched the battle unfold.

He said: 'The mother bear was coming from a waterhole and heading across the plateau completely unaware of the tigers.


Earn your stripes: The tiger backs down as the mother bear goes on the defensive


'The tigress saw them first and instantly she started stalking towards the bear.

'Bears and tigers are two large powerful animals which normally try to avoid each other. But the bear had her cubs with her and so she felt threatened. That's why she charged towards the tiger.

source: dailymail

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Sleeping with the fishes: Alaskan bear nods off in river after catching salmon

By LEE MORAN

Dozy bear: Rick Sheremeta snapped Yolanda falling asleep after she had caught a salmon


It's usually a case of 'You Snooze, You Lose' - but not for this brown bear who managed to grab 40 winks after landing a salmon.

Yolanda, as she has been named, could bear-ly keep her eyes open when she was snapped by wildlife photographer Rick Sheremeta.

This incredible picture shows her nodding off in a river, unchallenged by other bears, while still clutching her tasty snack.

Sheremeta had spent four days watching brown coastal bears at McNeil River Falls, on the Alaskan Peninsula, 290 miles south west of Anchorage.

He said: 'Yolanda was particularly interesting to watch. Not only was she fairly high up the bear pecking order, allowing her unchallenged access to her favourite spot, she was an excellent fisherwomen snatching fish time after time.'

'She would snare a large fish and walk it into the shallows where she would sit and consume it at her leisure. '


Snapped: Rick Sheremeta spent four days watching brown coastal bears at McNeil River Falls, on the Alaskan Peninsula, 290 miles south west of Anchorage


He added: 'She did this time and time again but we never saw her leave the water to take a nap break like all the other bears routinely did.

'I guess all this frantic activity finally got the best of her. She finally wandered into the calm pool just as she had done numerous times before, sat down, cradled her catch under her arm and promptly nodded off.

'Unfortunately, her nap was fairly short lived since her little slumber pad also happened to be an active byway for other bears travelling to and from the River.


That woke him: Tempers get out of control at times as these large bears vie for the best Salmon fishing spots


'After a few moments of blissful slumber she was rudely awakened by other some other denizen splashing through the water.

'Even though the scene was short-lived, it was a once in a million moment that I was lucky enough to document and capture with my camera.'

source: dailymail

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Bear in search of romance shot out of tree with tranquilliser for SIXTH time as he wanders into yet another town

By DAILY MAIL REPORTER

Falling in love: New Jersey State Wildlife officials catch a male bear after he was hit with a tranquilliser dart and fell out of a tree in East Brunswick, New Jersey in his search for a mate


The lengths that some will go to for love.

A bear, known as number 6131, was finally captured by wildlife officials after leading them across an entire state in his search for a mate.

The team finally caught up with the male, black bear up a tree in a front garden in East Brunswick, New Jersey. He was brought down with a tranquilliser dart and fell into a net held by Department of Environmental Protection staff.

He has already been found in six towns in the past year and each time released back into a state wildlife park.

Kim Tinnes, a wildlife expert who helped capture the bear, said: 'Probably in the course of a week he's travelling over 100 miles.

'I've got 30 years with the state and I don't think we've ever trapped the same bear so many times in so many urban situations.'


Not quite Cupid's arrow: A male bear, who climbed a tree in someone's front garden, is hit by a tranquilliser dart so he can be returned to a wildlife park


Miss Tinnes first encountered the adult bear in May last year in Parsippany in northern New Jersey. While unconscious, a tag with fitted to the bear's ear, his inner lip was tattooed with an identification number and he was given a tracking collar.

Since then, the team has been keeping track of the bear as he rambles around the state.

The wildlife worker said: 'He's spending so much time on the road he's actually losing weight.'

Bear 6131 weighed only 263 pounds when it was captured last week, having lost 30 pounds since he was first trapped last year.


Soft landing: The team of wildlife experts capture the bear they have been tracking for a year


The reason behind his journey appears to be that although there are plenty of female bears in the animal's native northern New Jersey because the bear is relatively small for a three-year-old adult, he is unable to compete with the older, larger males that dominate the territory. His neck is scarred with old claw marks from trying.

Experts think that he is on the hunt to find a mate who is so far unchallenged.

Black bears are solitary creatures who seek out a mate to breed and move on.

Miss Tinnes added: 'It's usually a one-shot, two-shot deal before moving on to look for another breeding partner. There's no emotion to it.'


source: dailymail

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