Death, Decay and Dead Bear | News, Sports, Vacancies

Of course, it’s always a shame to see a dead animal on the side of the road, especially one as majestic as a Black Bear. However, as nature educators at ACNC, we can use unfortunate circumstances like these as learning opportunities, and I didn’t want to miss this opportunity.

Now I like to think I’m good at working with the rough side of nature. I collected and transported quite a few creatures that I found on the side of the road. However, Black Bear was a little outside of my comfort zone and the trunk capacity of my car. So, with a sense of urgency, I continued on to ACNC, immediately calling my colleague Kathy when I arrived to tell her the news and ask: “Do we want Black Bear?” The answer, of course, was yes.

I grabbed my gloves, a volunteer and his truck (thanks Terry!), and copies of the New York State ACNC rescue permits, and we went after the bear.

When we got there and examined the bear, we were glad to see that he must have been there only recently. There were very few insects around him, and the body was still easy to manipulate. The heavy bear proved too much for Terry and me, but the road cleanup crew arrived just in time. After reviewing our permits, they happily helped us load the bear into the truck and send us on our way.

Finding bones is always a highlight for our students and campers, as is the discovery of this deer vertebra. Once decomposed, the bear’s bones will be left for students to study and learn from.

But why do we need this bear? In classroom programs, we often use real animals to demonstrate adaptations. We even teach a bear program where we bring skulls, fur and paws into schools. However, this bear was not suitable for visiting classes, so we had another plan. We decided this was the perfect opportunity to let it unwind and allow our students and campers to get up close and personal with this fascinating process.

Once the bear was safely transported to ACNC, we released it into the woods. We knew we would have students visiting us for school trips next week and this was the perfect opportunity to show them this part of the natural cycle of life first hand. We found a spot that was easily accessible to groups, but far enough off the trail that it wouldn’t be stumbled upon by unsuspecting visitors, and let nature get to work.

Within a few days the bear had completely changed. He went from a relatively normal looking Black Bear to a barely recognizable mass of flies, maggots, beetles and other decomposers having the time of his life. A few days after this, the bear no longer had a bear shape and was more like a bear-sized puddle of fur and bones.

The students who saw this bear at these stages were fascinated. Before examining the bear, I took the group to the compost in the garden to introduce them to the topic of decomposition and explain what we were going to find in the forest. We talked about how the bear would benefit all the animals that would eat it and the plants that would be able to grow from the nutrients it would add to the soil. As students looked at the bear, they pointed out all the maggots, bugs, flies, and worms. We noticed which parts of the bear decomposed the fastest and guessed which parts would take the longest to decompose.

Although there were some initial “gross” the children’s reaction when we first approached the bear and the smell was not very pleasant, the admiration took over and by the end it was difficult to get the children to leave and let another group examine it.

It’s always fun to introduce students to new things or new experiences. It’s even more rewarding when an experience they initially thought was rude or disgusting ends up being one of their favorite parts of their visit to ACNC. Yes, the decay can be serious. It smells, the bugs are creepy, and it’s sad to see a dead animal. But it also provides a great opportunity to talk about the cycle of life, how dead and decaying things help the environment, and gives students a memorable and positive experience of this process.

The Audubon Community Nature Center creates and develops connections between people and nature. ACNC is located east of Highway 62 between Warren and Jamestown. The trails and open areas are open from dawn to dusk. The nature center is open from 10:00 am to 4:30 pm daily except Sundays when it opens at 1:00 pm. For more information, visit auduboncnc.org or call (716) 569-2345.