Bear with us for a moment

In this episode of the Michigan DNR's Wildtalk Podcast, you’ll find out what work is happening for wildlife in Michigan’s Southwest Lower Peninsula, talk about bears and large carnivores with Cody Norton, and hear listener questions answered during the mailbag segment. The episode wraps up with a discussion about how you can save yourself and the wildlife around your home from headaches this spring.

Questions or comments about the show? Contact the DNR Wildlife Division at 517-284-9453 (WILD). You can also email dnr-wildlife@michigan.gov, and even send your question as a sound file that you record on your phone to be played on the air!

Episode Hosts: Hannah Schauer and Rachel Leightner
Producer: Eric Hilliard
Around the State Guest: Mark Sargent
Main Interview Guest(s): Cody Norton

• Wildlife Spotlight Links
  • Fox Squirrels
• Around the State Links
  • Managed Waterfowl Areas
  • Gourdneck State Game Area Map
• Interview Links
  • Michigan.gov/Bear
  • Michigan predator-prey study
  •  Michigan Natural Resources Commission
• Mailbag Links
  • Michigan.gov/HunterSafety
  • Michigan.gov/Hunting
  • Michigan.gov/Elk
• Wildlife is Everywhere Links
  • Nuisance Wildlife Information

Questions or comments about the show? Contact the DNR Wildlife Division at 517-284-9453 (WILD) or email dnr-wildlife@michigan.gov.

Transcript

Announcer:        You know what that sound means, it's time for the Michigan DNR's Wildtalk podcast. Welcome to the Wildtalk podcast, where representatives from the DNR's wildlife division chew the fat and shoot the scat about all things habitat, feathers, and fur. With insights, interviews, and your questions answered on the air, you'll get a better picture of what's happening in the world of wildlife here in the great state of Michigan.

Rachel:                 Welcome to Wildtalk. I'm your host, Rachel Leightner. And here with me today is the fabulous Hannah Schauer.

Hannah:               And we have an excellent show here today. We'll be joined by Cody Norton, our large carnivore specialist to talk about black bear management in Michigan. Later in the show, we'll answer some of your questions from the mail bag. And of course, sometime during the episode, we will also be revealing the winners of our Wildtalk podcast mugs. And you can find out how you can win one, too.

Rachel:                 We'll also be chatting with Mark Sargent to hear about the happenings in the southwest region. But, before we get into those updates, let's start things off by shining our wildlife spotlight on the fox squirrel.

                                Fox squirrels, they're foxy and they're squirrely.

Hannah:               Yes, they absolutely are.

Rachel:                 You're probably seeing these fox squirrels running around your yard this time of year. The eastern fox squirrel, found throughout most of Michigan, has an orange colored underside with a gray/brown coloration on its back.

Hannah:               But, there can be a lot of variation in individual coloration, and we've gotten some interesting photos of unusually colored squirrels. I've seen some blonde squirrels, some dark colored squirrels, squirrels with a typical body coloration and an all white tail, squirrels with white patches of fur. You name it, there have been all kinds. Very interesting, a lot of variation, but makes them unique.

Rachel:                 It does. I actually have a fox squirrel that's in my yard, and it's underbelly is totally black while the top is still the same brownish coloration. And for a while I thought it was a weasel because it appeared to be very long and slender, but the black was just casting a shade. They've very unusual colorations.

                                The fox squirrel is the largest tree squirrel in Michigan, and the only member of the squirrel family that is larger than the woodchuck. Fox squirrels can be found in deciduous wooded areas with open understory and often in rural and urban areas, too.

Hannah:               Yeah. And fox squirrels are generally active throughout most of the day and are usually solitary, except this time of year, you might see them frolicking with other squirrels, but. Because they're active during the day, you're very likely to see them when they're out and about. Home range for a fox squirrel might get up to five to 10 acres in size, but in more rural areas, you're likely to see those home ranges overlap. And in urban areas, the home ranges will be smaller. Now, they'll nest in deciduous tree cavities, or if a cavity is not available, they'll build a nest of leaves and twigs.

Rachel:                 Lots of squirrel squabbles happen this time of year, especially while looking for food. Fox squirrels dine on buds, flowers, fruits, and might also eat the occasional insect, egg, or young bird. During the late summer months, squirrels start hiding acorns and nuts by burying them in the ground. And they'll rely on those stashes of food during the cold winter months when other foods aren't available. They can also relocate those food stores with great success, using an excellent sense of smell and a good memory.

Hannah:               I wish I had the memory of a squirrel some days, then I can find whatever I lost.

Rachel:                 It certainly would be helpful. I also would like it to be acceptable to just bury caches of snacks wherever I want them to be so that I can go back to them later.

Hannah:               Yes, absolutely.

Rachel:                 Under the couch cushions or things like that.

Hannah:               This is an excellent plan. We should start this. Young squirrels are typically born in March or April. And some older females can have a second litter again in July. The average litter size is three to four young, and they're born naked and blind. They won't start getting solid food until about 10 weeks after they're born. And they're independent around 13 weeks.

Rachel:                 Now, if you've got squirrels hanging around, you've probably also seen some predators. Some common predators of squirrels include hawks, foxes, coyotes, weasels, and humans. Mast or nut productions in the previous year can impact squirrel survival over the winter months. And in rural and urban areas, car mortality is often seen. All right, so don't scurry off. Next up, we'll be talking with Mark Sargent.

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Rachel:                 Welcome back to Wildtalk. Mark, the southwest regional manager is here today to chat with us about the happenings in the southwest region. Thanks for joining us today, Mark.

Mark:                    Thanks, Rachel and Hannah. It's great being with you today.

Rachel:                 Let's kick off with talking about accomplishments. What would you say is the biggest accomplishment that the southwest region has tackled this quarter?

Mark:                    You used to think of winter time as being a slow time, and now we don't have a slow time. Our staff has been super busy with a lot of things. 1st of January, we wrapped up our season of collecting deer samples. Just last week we ended the goose hunting at the Allegan Todd farm in Allegan County. That area is managed specifically for waterfall hunting and more targeted to goose hunting. And we do that by planting agricultural crops, such as corn and rye and winter wheat, to attract and hold geese.

                                We also have a large refuge area that provides a food resource for migratory waterfall, as they move through southern Michigan. At Allegan, it's all dryland hunting, so having a boat or canoe is not necessary. We allow you to drive out to your blind and unload your decoys, and you can carry them in from there. It's really accessible, and we have a real long history of providing that opportunity to Michigan waterfowl hunters.

Hannah:               Sounds like some really awesome and unique waterfowl and birding experiences out there. Thanks for sharing all that. It sounds like a really cool place to check out. What would you say the biggest project is that you have looming on the horizon for the southwest region?

Mark:                    One project that was ... We actually started the partnership five years ago, but we're right now really starting to see the implementation is the work that we're doing at Gourdneck State Game Area over near Portage, next biggest town would be Kalamazoo, which is right next door. That property is about 2,300 acres, and we began land acquisition in 1941. And I don't think we knew at that time what would be the future, but right now that property of 2,300 acres is completely surrounded by the City of Portage. And we've decided that this property has a different opportunity, so we started working with the City of Portage. And we have developed a memorandum agreement with them to manage that in partnership and in collaboration as an urban wildlife area. I think that's the first one in the state, so we're pretty proud of that.

Rachel:                 That sounds awesome. All this Gourdneck State Game area stuff is really innovative and super exciting to see roll out, so thanks for highlighting some of those things, Mark. You are the supervisor for the southwest region, and you've got a lot of tremendous, hard working staff throughout the region. Within the last quarter, have there been any impressive contributions from some of your staff?

Mark:                    I've got one of the best jobs in the DNR, and that's because I work from the best staff in the wildlife division. And they step it up every day. But, in the last three to six months, and really over the last two years of the pandemic, they have stepped it up every day. They continue to work with the restrictions that we have and drive every day to get product on the ground, to get natural resources managed, to get habitat work done, and to provide great recreational opportunities to our stakeholders. I'll just give you examples, so we talked about CWD, and there was long days and long hours, there was weekend work. They got her done.

Hannah:               Thank you so much, Mark, for taking the time to share some of the work that's being done in the southwest region. Like I said, we really appreciate you carving out a few minutes to share that with us and our listeners.

                                Next up, everybody, stick around, we'll be talking with Cody Norton about black bear management in Michigan.

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Hannah:               Welcome back to Wildtalk. Joining Rachel and I today to talk about black bears is Cody Norton, the wildlife division's large carnivore specialist. Welcome to the show, Cody.

Cody:                    Thanks for having me.

Rachel:                 Pleasure to have you on the show. Can you tell us a little bit about your role with the division and how you got interested in black bears?

Cody:                    Sure. As you mentioned, I'm the large carnivore specialist, so I'm responsible for bear, wolf, and cougar management in the state for the wildlife division. I get to work with the big toothy animals and spend a lot of time on them. I guess I've always had an interest in bears in particular. I actually did my master's research on black bears in here and the Upper Peninsula, looking at how they respond to timber harvest and then also infanticide risk, which is actually when a male bear might try to kill unrelated offspring to bring a female into estrus and to breed sooner. I've been working with bears for quite a while now. And they're my favorite.

Hannah:               That sounds like some interesting research to be a part of.

Cody:                    Yeah, absolutely. And that was part of the Michigan predator/prey study, which was a great project working with bears, wolves, coyotes, bobcat, and deer. It gave me a great insight into what working with those carnivores in the future would be.

Rachel:                 We brought you on because we've heard that the Michigan bear management plan is currently being updated, and we want to dig into what some of those updates are. But, first, can you tell us a little bit more about what the bear management plan is?

Cody:                    Sure. The management plan is basically a document that outlines our strategic guidance for managing bears in Michigan. It doesn't get into all the nitty gritty details of what we're going to do with bears, but it provides that long term vision for how we want to move forward and manage bears throughout the state, in the upper and Northern Lower Peninsulas.

Hannah:               Would you be willing to touch on some of the updates to the plan? What sort of items have been most recently updated? I know the plan gets reviewed every so often, but.

Cody:                    Yeah, so we strive to update the plan every 10 or so years. It was originally written in 2009, so we're in the process of doing the update now. We feel that we have a really solid foundation for the plan. We haven't really seen big changes or don't anticipate big changes with this update. We're updating it; we're not doing a complete rewrite of the management plan. For the most part, it's been trying to include the latest information from within the state on bears, like new population estimates, new hunting regulations, or bear management units, any changes like that. We've been getting information from the public, getting input from the public on if we should be changing wording or reorganizing, combining, moving around our goals, strategies and objectives within the plan. Honestly, it's been mostly updating information and then minor changes to those big picture items.

Hannah:               You mentioned getting public input on the plan. Can you go over that process a little bit for us?

Cody:                    Yeah, definitely. We kicked off the update process ... and actually, before I was in this position, it got kicked off with pretty much a month long public comment period, where the public could provide comments, review what the 2009 plan is, the current plan that's in place. And then we also met with our bear forum, which is a group that's made up of different stakeholders that are interested or vested in bear management in the state. And we also reached out to the tribal governments as well within Michigan. We basically are trying to get input from all of those different viewpoints and consult with the tribes. And then once we had a draft management plan put together based on that input and new things that have happened with estimates and regulations, then we put that draft updated plan out to the public, the forum, and tribes once again.

Rachel:                 Awesome. Lots of opportunity for input on bear management in Michigan. When can folks expect to see that final draft or the whole final plan?

Cody:                    The plan still has to go before the natural resources commission and the director of the department. And the director has to sign off on it. We expect that to be happening this spring.

Rachel:                 That's awesome. And so once that is finalized, just so our listeners know, that will go on our bear website. It'll be at michigan.gov/bear. Later in the year, if you're interested in finding a final bear management plan, you can find it on that website. We have the bear hunting season here in Michigan that typically runs from September to October. Can you give us some season recap, so how the 2021 season went?

Cody:                    Yeah, absolutely. And bear hunting is our major tool for changing bear abundance throughout the state. It's a really important management tool for us. There's a lot of folks that participate in bear hunting across the state. This past season, we harvested about 1,300 bears in the Upper Peninsula and about 500 bears in the Northern Lower Peninsula. In general, it was a pretty solid year. Most of our U.P. bear management units, so we actually break both regions up into management units so that we can control where that harvest occurs and spread out hunters, but in most of the U.P. units, we actually had above average hunter success. They were being successful at finding bears, at harvesting bears.

                                I think a lot of that came down to decent mast production years. Pretty good bear food sources out there. The weather cooperated pretty well, especially early in the season for hunters, not too much hot weather, not too much rain or wind. And so we saw good success. The northern lower was very similar. We typically always in recent years have had really good success rates in the northern lower. And so we continued to see that, and I think the food resources and the weather conditions were pretty similar to the UP as well.

Rachel:                 Out of curiosity, how do people find bears? Is there particular habitat that bears live in or signs that you look for?

Cody:                    Yeah, no, that's a great question. They are generalists, so they key into all sorts of different habitat types depending on the time of year. Really, I think it really comes down to finding where the food is for bears at that time of year when you're trying to pursue them. Once you're getting into September and October, they're typically switching over to those hard mast sources, especially oak acorns, variation in hard mast food sources in the Northern Lower with walnut and chestnuts, hazelnuts, trying to key into those food sources that are available during that time of year. Also, black cherry can be a really good food source. It's a soft mast food source that's around later in the year.

                                So, trying to key into areas near oak stands, near hardwood stands that have cherry, but also big swamps are always good for keeping a large dark colored animal cool if there's warmer temps, and just trying to stay away from places with a lot of people. They generally need big tracks of land, and waterways are always good ways for them to be moving around and not be seen, too. You try to piece everything together and find those hotspots for bear activity.

Rachel:                 Do you know what the biggest bear that was harvested this year was?

Cody:                    I heard about a bear from the Northern Lower that was harvested that the live weight they were estimating was 650 pounds. And it was actually taken by a young, I think, 14-year-old girl down there. Pretty cool story. I didn't get to ... I haven't seen any pictures of the bear yet, but it sounded like a really neat opportunity. And that's about as big as bears get in Michigan. Honestly, when you see bears come through the check station or see them out in the field, I'd say, I mean, a 250 pound bear looks like a pretty nice, solid mature bear. And when they start packing on weight from there up, 350, 450, you're getting into some pretty special bears, I think. And, yeah, into the 650 pound range, that is a giant bear for Michigan.

Hannah:               That must have been a really thrilling experience for that hunter. Wow.

Rachel:                 Do you have the ages of the bears that were harvested this year?

Cody:                    I don't. But, I did do a little bit of digging for last year, looking at the ages that we saw. And I think the oldest one we had last year was 25 years old, and that was harvested in the eastern U.P., in the Newberry bear management unit, which is a pretty old bear. I think the oldest we've ever seen, at least since 1989 where we started pulling teeth, was 30 years old. When people are hunting bears, I think they typically don't think about them as getting quite a bit older than most of the game species that we hunt and pursue in Michigan. You compare that to deer or small game or anything like that, turkeys, it's just on a completely different level typically. Pretty much every year, we're getting bears in the 20 plus year old range coming in.

Hannah:               I know a lot of hunters enjoy bear meat, so eating the bear that they've harvested. Are there any other uses that hunters usually use bears for after they've had a successful harvest?

Cody:                    Yeah, definitely. The meat's pretty interesting. It has a lot higher fat content and marbling. You can actually see in some of it, so it tastes a little different than a deer. It doesn't dry out quite as much as deer and other wild game typically does that's leaner. That makes it really, really fun to cook with. You can use it for maybe a wider variety of things, or you don't have to mix in pork or some other domestic livestock. One of the other really cool things about bears is that you can render the fat. And so if you actually collect the fat without the meat and basically simmer it for a long time, you can pull out bear grease or bear oil, it's called. And that has a ton of uses.

                                It actually used to be really common back during European settlement and hundreds of years ago. But now, it can still be used for cooking oil. Basically, it can replace olive oil, vegetable oil, anything else that you might want to cook with or fry in. You can use it for baking as well, in pie crust and cookies. People use it for conditioning leather, making sure it doesn't dry out and crack. You can use it as gun oil and lubrication. You can use it as a fuel source in oil lamps. You can actually burn it to create light. It's a very versatile substance that you can make from bears that typically isn't something you can get from wild games. Very, very unique to them.

Rachel:                 And any other interesting tidbits that have happened within the last couple of seasons?

Cody:                    Yeah. One really cool thing that showed up last year twice, is we actually had two color phase bears get harvested in the far western U.P., but both of those bears were what we call cinnamon colored. I mean, just a beautiful coat color, something that we typically do not see very often in Michigan at all. I've talked to some of the DNR staff over in the west end, the west U.P., and they said that they might see a color phase bear once every five to 10 years, never heard of a color phase bear coming from anywhere else in the state.

                                It's a unique thing that we only see there. I started talking with some of our research partners on the U.P. deer movement study that's been going on up here, and they've actually gotten trail camera photos of cinnamon, chocolate, and blonde bears all in the west U.P. Still super rare, but they have been able to document them over several years. A neat thing that came up recently that was pretty fun to dig into.

Rachel:                 All right, Cody. So, just to reiterate, where can people find the updated management plan and any other bear information?

Cody:                    Yeah. Once the management plan is finalized, then to where most of our other bear information is, they can find that at michigan.gov/bear.

Rachel:                 Well, thanks for joining us today, Cody, we really appreciate your time. Next up, we'll be answering questions from the mailbag, so you'll want to stick around.

Announcer:        Did you know that you can take your hunting and fishing regulations with you wherever you go. Have access to the information you need when you need it, right on your smartphone, just visit michigan.gov/dnrdigests to download the applicable hunting digest before you head out to the woods or the Michigan fishing guide before you hit the water. Download the most up to date regulations available today at michigan.gov/dnrdigests.

Rachel:                 Welcome back to Wildtalk. Now, let's dig into the bag and answer some of your questions.

                                First question comes in from Lindsay. Hannah, what does Lindsay have to ask us today?

Hannah:               Yeah. Lindsay called looking for resources for someone who is interested in learning how to hunt. A new hunter in her family, looking for some resources for them to get started. Now, even though hunting seasons are winding down right now, it isn't too early to think about preparing for next season, especially if you're a new hunter. Now, a hunter safety course is a great place to start, and you can learn more about the different course options and sign up for one by visiting michigan.gov/huntersafety.

                                We also have a page on our website dedicated to learn to hunt resources and tools for getting started. And you can find that by visiting michigan.gov/hunting. And certainly after going through all those resources and information, if you still have questions, let us know. We're happy to help. How about you, Rachel? Did you have any questions in our mailbag today?

Rachel:                 I did. So Kevin wrote into us and was asking if there's any rules or regulations for elk shed hunting on public land. He was wondering if it's legal to hunt for and keep elk sheds. It is legal to keep antler sheds found on public lands. There is no permit needed. Only parts of the game animal that are shed naturally can be collected. However, if the antler sheds are attached to a skull, or if you find other skulls or carcasses of other game species, you must have a kill tag for that species and it must be during the open season for the animal, for you to collect them.

                                This time of year as the snow melts, lots of folks will go out looking for deer sheds or elk sheds. And if you just happen to find an antler that was shed naturally on the ground, you can collect it and no permit is needed. And if you're looking for locations to do that in, the elk herd is primarily across the Pigeon River Country State Forest. And so there's lots of public land up there for you to go look for sheds or view wildlife. There's a lot of great things to do up there in the spring, so we recommend checking that location out.

Hannah:               Now, as we zip this segment to a close, remember, if you have questions about wildlife or hunting, you can call 517-284-WILD or email us at dnr-wildlife@michigan.gov. Your question could be featured on the mail bag.

Rachel:                 Now is your opportunity to win a Wildtalk podcast mug. As a thank you to our listeners will be giving a mug or two away every episode.

Hannah:               Our February mug winners are Mike Zaycik and Kevin Laffey. Check your email as we'll be getting in touch with you soon. Now, they answered the question: what is a group of owls called? And that answer is a parliament.

Rachel:                 What a hoot. To be entered into the drawing for this month, test your wildlife knowledge and answer our wildlife quiz question. This month's question is what is the area inside a bear's nose called that allows them to smell 100 times better than humans can.

Hannah:               All right, well, if you think the answer, email your name and the answer to us at dnr-wildlife@michigan.gov to be entered for a chance to win a mug. Be sure to include the subject line as "Mug me" and submit your answer by March 15th. We'll announce winners and the answer on next month's podcast, so be sure to listen in and see if you've won, and so you could find out what our next quiz question will be.

Rachel:                 Best of luck. Now, back to the show.

                                While it's finally getting closer, folks. Spring will be here soon. And with the warmer weather comes an abundance of wildlife activity.

Hannah:               No doubt our listeners have heard us talk many times about baby wildlife, breeding seasons, not to mention just in this episode, when we were talking about fox squirrels and having babies right now. We wanted to wrap up this episode by sharing a few reminders before spring is in full swing. Probably heard us say these things before, but it always is worth repeating just to keep it fresh in your mind as we're approaching the new spring season.

Rachel:                 In the coming months as spring sets on, you can expect to see baby animals, nests, and eggs, probably really close to your home. And while it's really exciting to see, please remember to keep your distance and to give wildlife plenty of space to raise their young. Now, these adults of some species can be protective of their babies or nests and other species use the strategy of leaving their young hidden and unattended to reduce the chances of being found by predators.

Hannah:               For example, don't be surprised if you find a nest of bunnies, but don't see the mother around because she'll leave them hidden off on their own and go elsewhere, so as not to attract the attention of the predator. And then she'll come back when the coast is clear to nurse those babies.

Rachel:                 The same was true for fawns, right? You could just find fawn alone and maybe not even a place you would expect to find fawn. It can happen in, geez, garden beds or porches or things like that.

Hannah:               Backyards. Yep. Yep. And we won't see fawns for a while yet, that'll be more in May and June.

Rachel:                 Birds' nests can also end up in some unexpected places. You might find songbirds nesting in your hanging flower pot on your porch, or even a ducks nest in your garden bed. If you find them, you want to make sure to give them plenty of space, and they will move on once they have hatched and left the nest.

Hannah:               Yeah. And some animals you can discourage from nesting or creating a den by causing a lot of disturbance and using hazing techniques to scare them before they get comfortable. Most wild parents aren't going to want to raise babies where there's a lot of human activity and noise. And so those kinds of things can help deter parents from setting up a home base too close to your house or in a place that you might not want them.

Rachel:                 And then, of course, in addition to seeing babies, some of our hibernators will be waking up as the weather warms. Black bears, in particular, will be leaving their dens in the coming weeks and will be looking for food. And while they'll typically dine on lush green spring vegetation, they will not pass up on the easy food sources, which typically includes bird seed. If you live in bear territory, so if you're in the Upper Peninsula or in Northern Lower Peninsula, right now is the time to take down your bird feeders so that hungry bears don't hang around your yard looking for free handouts. And you'll also want to make sure to keep your trash secure and not leave pet foods outside where the wildlife can get to it.

                                Well, this wraps up our March episode. Thanks for joining us and tuning in. We'll see you right back here in April.

Announcer:        This has been the Wildtalk podcast, your monthly podcast airing the first of each month in offering insights into the world of wildlife across the state of Michigan. You can reach the wildlife division at 517-284-9453 or dnr-wildlife@michigan.gov.