It's late fall, autumn if you prefer. Late summer and early fall had been extremely dry in northcentral Pennsylvania and the vernal pool that I call the bear wallow had been gradually shrinking, drying through evaporation since it has no inlet or outlet. This pool, like many similar vernal pools, appears to be a pingo scar.
Black bears often visit these pools to bathe in the water that accumulates in the depression, thus the name “bear wallow” which in this area is the traditional name for these pools. In Forest and Field has a number of earlier posts about the goings-on at this bear wallow, too many to list here but they're all in the blog archive (to the right).
So here we are late in 2020 when human society has been turned topsy-turvy, but the species that visit the bear wallow carry on with their lives unconcerned about our problems.
Omitted from the video are most of the videos the camera trap recorded of raccoons, which were frequent visitors, and all of the hundreds of videos of gray squirrels dashing back and forth across the scene.
Gnawing and pawing by black bears, gray squirrels and raccoons damaged the camera case so it's been brought in for repairs. Come spring it will be back.
Hello,
ReplyDeleteGreat video and wildlife sightings. I think the bears and deers are my favorite critters. Thank you for linking up and sharing your post. Take care, enjoy your day. Happy weekend to you!
Hello. I like that video. List of cast is awesome.
ReplyDeleteHave a nice weekend.
I really look forward to your videos! What a great spot to have your trail camera! Was that a porcupine with his tail all bare like that? Looks like that bear was having a great time taking a bath! How fun!
ReplyDeleteLots of deer. That was worth the wait to actually see bears wallowing in the water.
ReplyDeleteWatching the video is a meditation. Thank you,
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