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Summer Beds

bedding_area_cedar_800x600.jpgBears generally bed away from people and other bears.  In cold weather, especially in spring when the ground is still frozen, they insulate themselves from the ground by raking up leaf litter or placing conifer boughs in their beds.  They obtain the  boughs by biting branches off conifer saplings.  Sometimes they strip the bark off cedars to use as bedding.  In warm weather, they bed directly on the ground, often in cool, damp, mossy areas.
Bear Beds:
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A bear came out of hibernation early (March 20) and made a bed on top of the snow out of conifer boughs, bark, and wood chips. 
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A black bear created an early winter bed out of mountain laurel branches to insulate it from the snow.  The bear had been foraging on beechnuts nearby—digging under  2 feet of snow to get them.
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Black bears sometimes strip bark from cedar tree to use as bedding for day beds and dens.
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The bare ground under these cedar trees identifies it as a favored bed site.  Both cedars have been bitten and bark has been stripped off for bedding.