This Massachusetts black bear appeared at a pile of moose bones in February.

The timing and length of a black bear’s hibernation depend on food availability, weather, and reproductive status. In the west, bears tend to sleep straight through till spring, but in eastern North America where acorns or other nuts may be available all winter, some bears occasionally wake up during mild weather to forage. Last fall we had a pretty good crop of both beech nuts and red oak acorns in Massachusetts, which may be why this bear was up in February to pose for our “homebrew” camera trap stationed at the remains of a moose. I expected to get photos of coyotes chewing on the bones, so imagine my surprise (and delight) in seeing this bear. S/he remained at the site for over a half hour, but barely disturbed the pile of bones. There wasn’t much on them anyway. I hope the bear found some nuts to snack on before returning to the den.

He or she remained at the pile of bones for over a half hour, and appeared a bit dazed. Perhaps the bear stumbled out of its slumber not fully awake.

Gnawing on the skimpy remains before moving on.