looduskalender.ee

 

 

In the video we see a fairly typical territory marking "ritual" of a male bear that at times looks like a bear dance. Recorded in April last year, in an outskirt of Soomaa National Park.

 

Regardless of sex and age, sexually mature brown bears mark their territory mainly by rubbing the scruff, back and neck areas against “pleasing” trees. They leave a scent message to their conspecifics about their presence. Such “bear marks” are mostly near animal tracks, because bears, like many other species, like to move along already trodden paths.

 

Territory marking of bear on pine bark

 

The “visit cards” of bears often also show claw and tooth marks. The latter are left especially by male bears during the heat period in May and early June. The tree is sometimes so roughly handled that it tends to dry from the damage. In that case a new and healthy tree nearby is chosen. Because of their resin, quite a lot of hairs can often be seen on conifers on closer inspection.

 

Bear track