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Re: Hikester's Introduction
Hikester wrote:
>What I will say by way of introduction to anybody planning to hike the
>Smokies this year is this: in conversation with the park rangers, I
>understand that they are expecting a bumper crop of bear cubs. Last fall's
>production of "hard mast" -- the term given to the acorns, seeds, etc. that
>bears typically live on -- was superb. The net result is that female bears
>are better fed than in years past and so there will be more instances of two
>cubs born to the female rather than one. Every time I've ever hiked in the
>Smokies I've had up close and personal experiences with the bears, so you
>can bet that I'll be keeping a watch for them!
Cool. Maybe I should bring my binocs with me thru the Smokies. Fortunately,
black bear sows aren't nearly as protective of their young as, say, grizzlies.
On the downside, the little buggers can climb way out on tree limbs, making
food hangs a bit more tricky.
6 days til Springer...
----
mark tabb
mtabb@motion.ai.uiuc.edu