ASHEVILLE-SEPT2021

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14 Forever Friend Lane - Off Brevard Rd. (Rte. 191) & Pond Rd. 828-761-2001 • www.ashevillehumane.org ADOPTIONS: Tues.—Sat. 10 am - 6 pm / Naptime for animals 1-2 pm Buncombe County Shelter • 16 Forever Friend Lane • 828-250-6430 SHELTER HOURS: Mon-Sat 9 am-6 pm • Closed Sun MARLEY is a sweet senior seeking a new forever home. She has good manners, is crate & housetrained, sleeps quietly all night and is very smart! She knows sit, down & high-five and although Marley is getting older, she’s still loves walks and play. MILES is a sweet lover boy and lap cat extraordinaire! He loves petting, face rubs, and "tickles" along his spine. This handsome boy is on a special prescription diet because due to a urinary blockage not long ago, but he's doing great on his new food. VANILLA is a sweet, 4-month-old gal looking for a new family. This cutie is all about playtime, and loves her toys. She’s always happy when she receives her daily fresh vegetables, and boy, does she love her greens! She’s also been known to do binkies. The Adoption Center is OPEN ... no appointment needed. MOLLY is a gorgeous 12-year-old gal who came to us when her owners could no longer care for her. She was diagnosed with hyperthyroidism, but she doesn't let that get her down. She loves people and asks for petting whenever you're near. She has the cutest little meows and chirps we ever did hear. OUR THRIFT STORE HAS MOVED TO RIVER RIDGE MARKETPLACE (Exit 8 off I-240) Be Kind to Animals ... Today and Every Day! "Some people talk to animals. Not many listen though. That's the problem." ― A.A. Milne Bring in Your Pet for a Free Treat! • Natural Pet Foods • Natural & Organic Fresh-Baked Treats • Large Selection of Products and Toys Made in the USA • Gifts for Pets & Pet Lovers . Monday-Saturday 11-6 • Sunday noon-5 118-A Cherry St. Black Mountain 828.669.0706 www.boneafidepetboutique.com - Doris Day PAGE 8 • CRITTER MAGAZINE • SEPTEMBER 2021
“The Bears Aren’t Mean, Just Hungry!” Although fall is almost here, it’s never too soon to plan a trip for next spring and summer. You might consider a road trip to enjoy the scenic beauty and wildlife in MN. The Vince Shute Wildlife Sanctuary (home of the non-profit American Bear Association) in Orr, MN might make for a very worthwhile experience—especially since we too, share our WNC mountains with these intelligent and amazing creatures. The information in this article was taken from their site at americanbear.org (as well as the title, which is credited to Vince Shute himself). Now closed for the season, they will re-open on Memorial Day 2022. Many years ago, a humble Minnesota logger made a decision that would greatly affect black bears and the attitudes people have towards this often-misunderstood animal. It was then that Vince Shute chose to stop shooting the bears that broke into his cabins. He tried a more peaceful approach and the strategy worked – no more break-ins. Vince claimed, “the bears aren’t mean, just hungry!” Thus, began Vince’s long and celebrated life with black bears in a tiny corner of the north woods near Orr, Minnesota. Generations of black bears still visit his former homestead, now designated as The Vince Shute Wildlife Sanctuary. The American Bear Association, a non-profit organization, was formed to manage the sanctuary in order to promote a better understanding of the black bear through education, observation and experience. Vince Shute’s final wish has become a reality – peaceful coexistence between humans and bears. All of the bears are free-roaming; they come and go at will through clover meadows, cool cedar swamps and pine forest. Far from solitary, simple-thinking, nuisances, black bears are highly intelligent creatures. Bears possess the largest and most convoluted brains relative to their size of any land mammal. Researchers theorize that they are actually more intelligent than chimpanzees. This is so, because chimps stay in the same territory their whole life, while black bears are constantly moving. Therefore, they constantly need to adapt and problem solve in their new environments. As highly social beings, black bears form complex social hierarchies and can remember familiar animals for years, recognizing and identifying them from a distance as far as 2,000 feet away. As omnivores, black bears are significantly more intelligent than more specialized feeders. This is so, because their varied diet means that bears have to remember a lot of information about a wide variety of food resources. Incredibly, black bears compile a detailed map of their environment and can remember where they encountered a certain food source from ten or more years earlier. Bears have something called a vomeronasal organ, more commonly known as the Jacobson’s organ. This organ is located on the roof of the mouth and connects directly to the nasal cavity. The Jacobson organ aids bears in smelling, and storing various scents. Male bears will use their Jacobson’s organ to capture the pheromone scent of a female in estrus during mating season. Mother bears will chew up food and hold open their mouths for their cubs to recognize a safe food source. The cubs will use their Jacobson’s organ in order to store that scent. In order to use this organ, bears will lift their head after finding the scent, and use a facial movement called the flehmen response, which helps direct the scent into the organ. The flehmen response includes the bear wrinkling its nose while curling its lips back. At the Vince Shute Wildlife Sanctuary, we see extensive signs of critical thinking. Bears will often use half-rotten logs as floats to get across rivers and streams. As shown in the photo below, bears often use logs as bridges. Amazingly, black bears can make long term plans. For instance, bears will climb to the top of oak trees in midsummer to assess the budding crop of acorns, as if to try to determine how much food they will have come fall time. Bears will also start searching for a den to hibernate in as early as June-July. The incredible resourcefulness and problem-solving abilities of black bears is what often times gets them into trouble with humans. Bears have figured out a plethora of ways to benefit from living in close proximity with us. A bear could spend all day foraging for berries, or get ten times that amount of protein, fat, and calories from a Big Mac in your garbage. As such, living in bear country requires a willingness to minimize bear attractants, as well as a tolerance and appreciation of these incredible beings. For more information about black bears and the sanctuary, visit americanbear.org. Also on Facebook at Vince Shute Wildlife Sanctuary. For helpful tips about precautions for local bears, see Bear Wise Basics on p. 24. PLEASE BE SURE YOUR PET HAS A MICROCHIP AND ALWAYS WEARS AN ID TAG WITH CURRENT INFORMATION! CRITTER MAGAZINE • SEPTEMBER 2021 • PAGE 9
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