Brown Bears and
“Carcass Trees”
Stanislav Puchkovskiy
Udmurt State University
Universitetskaya, 1, Izhevsk, 426034,
Russia
Forest trees sometimes show
signs of bear activity. Trees marked
by bears serve some social purpose
since they provide the means through
which bears communicate with
each other (Seton 1937, Pazhetnov
1979, Jamnický 1987, etc.). The trees
bearing bear signs are usually found
on bear trails and other game trails;
they are also found on hiking trails
and forest service roads (Puchkovskiy
& Neyfeld 2005). Such trees are
sometimes used by bears over many
years and show many different types
of sign.
There are some peculiar situations
where trees showing bear sign are
found (Puchkovskiy 2005). Some trees
showing bear sign are found near den
sites, meeting/confrontation sites
between two adult brown bears, sites
where an encounter with a human
occurs as well as near the carcasses of
prey. For example researchers have
found bear marked trees near carcass
sites in the proximity of oat fields in
Norway as well as in some regions in
Russia (Mysterud 1975, Vaisfeld et al
1993).
The focus of our research has
been on trees found near carcass site,
which I call “carcass trees”. The first
time we found evidence of such trees
was in the Yar district of the Udmurt
Republic, where from 1984 to 1994 we
conducted our research. We recorded,
numbered and visited every year (two
or more times) 114 trees showing bear
sign. Trees were generally found along
bear trails although three “carcass
trees” were located off traditional bear
trails.
On September 23 and 24 of
during moose rutting season,
we heard moose calls north of our
campsite in the morning and evening.
On April 23, 1986, we found some
bear tracks in the snow not far from
the previous year’s campsite and
followed them. 500 meters north of
our campsite, we found some bear scat
with moose hair and one bone as well
as a moose carcass and marked trees
nearby.
Based on tracks in the snow we
deduced that the bear had come from
a nearby cultivated field. From there
the bear walked over to the moose
carcass to feed on it. The bear left
signs of a daybed in the snow. The
bear walked by the marked trees
(keeping a 1 meter distance) and did
not mark them again. The signs on
these trees were from the year before.
The bear then returned to the field by
the same trail it used to access the site.
My hypothesis is that the bear
killed the moose we heard in the
autumn of 1985 and marked three
trees, one spruce (dbh 36 cm) and
two firs (dbh 20 cm and 32 cm
respectively). Signs of bark damage as
well as traces of bear hair were found
on the trees and there were tracks at
the base of the tree.
On May 13, 1986 we discovered
that the fir with a dbh of 20 cm was
once again marked by the same bear
(damaged bark). The bear left tracks in
the soil nearby the moose bones. On
May 19, 1986 we visited this site once
more. Other smaller bears had visited
the site the night before. What fir
that remained appeared to have been
recently moved around by a bear. On
July 25, 1987 we discovered that a bear
had rubbed against the spruce tree
and left some hair on it. During the
1987 and 1988 investigations no new
bear signs were found on the trees
described above.
In 2002, we conducted field work
in the forests of Pechoro-Ilichsky
zapovednik. We recorded 198 bear
marked trees in the forest of Yaksha
(Puchkovskiy 2003). In one instance,
we found three trees bearing some
markings, 2 pines (dbh 17 cm and 21
cm respectively) and one birch (dbh 18
cm), at distances from approximately
1.5 to 5 meters from each other.
Scattered around we found some
moose bones covered by fallen leaves.
In 2004, in the Yegro-Laga forest
we recorded 402 bear marked trees
(Puchkovskiy & Neyfeld 2005). On
July 18, 2004 we recorded three trees
with deep claw marks. Nearby we
found a moose carcass. Moose hair
covered an area of approximately 20
square meters; the moose bones were
scattered even more widely (photo
page 19). The bear clawed at the
moose hair and left some of it on a
few trees. The bear also bit and broke
ten little birches and spruces. We
could not establish whether the bear
killed the moose or whether it found
a carcass killed by wolves. We believe
that the bear marked the trees and fed
on the moose carcass in the autumn
of 2003. More recent markings were
not found. The moose carcass and
the marked trees were located 2 to 5
meters from a forest road, where in
August 2004 we found many moose
tracks and few bear tracks.
On August 22, 2004 a bull moose
carcass was found 200 meters away
from a stream. A 30 square meter
area was covered in moose hair and
was trampled. The moose was either
killed by wolves in the winter or killed
by a bear in the spring after leaving its
den. The bear fed on the moose in the
spring. The surroundings trees were
not marked. However, the bear clawed
the carcass and rubbed against the
base of some live trees nearby. The
bear also scratched at the base and
some nearby deadfall.
In 2005, in the Verhne-Pechorskoye
forest we recorded 389 marked trees.
On July 22, we recorded a marked
spruce tree (dbh 8.5 cm) located
on a forest road, 2 km away from
Shizhim. According to inspector
V.Kudryavtzev, the tree was marked
some years before by a bear feeding
on a nearby carcass of a moose which
it had killed. Remains of the moose
carcass could not be found.
“Carcass trees” are very important
for the purposes of studying bear
communication and behavior. In this
respect, it is important to note the
following:
1. “Carcass trees” can be found on
trails and forest roads as well as
away from such trails and roads;
2. “Carcass trees” after they are
marked the first time are seldom
marked again;
3. Around “Carcass trees” hair from
a carcass can be found up to 2
years after the kill. The bones from
a carcass can be found many years
after the kill but are often covered
in moss, leaves and grass.
4. Bear and carcass hair can be found
on the marked trees many years
after they are deposited when there
is some resin (turpentine) on the
tree.
5. Sometimes, people may remove the
carcass and thus the “Carcass trees”
may not be easily identified.