The Overlooked Warning Sign That Points To Bears Near A Hiking Trail

There is no shortage of signs that indicate you've arrived in bear country. For a start, there are likely to be actual signs in the area, usually showing a bear in silhouetted side profile. There may be photos of frowned-upon activities, like people feeding bears, or steaming piles of scat by the trailside — and the fresher they are, the closer the bear. Dead animal carcasses, signs of digging and foraging, or distinct five-toed paw prints also indicate bears are in the area. But one of the most overlooked (and easy-to-miss) warning signs is markings on trees.

Various species of bear interact with trees, sometimes leaving claw marks etched into the bark, sometimes rubbing up against the trunk and leaving tufts of fur in the crevices. Black bears are expert climbers, leaving scuffs, damaged bark, and long claw marks on trunks. Both black bears and grizzlies like to rub themselves against trees with an almost carnal level of abandon, and biting tree trunks is another part of bears' complex social behaviors.

Stay vigilant, and you should be able to return to safer ground before encountering a hungry or overly curious bear in the wild. That said, it's still good to know what to do if you see a bear. Keep your distance, try not to spook the animal or entice it with food, make yourself big, but remain calm and don't run or scream. And whatever you do, don't set up camp next to this outdoor feature if you want to avoid an encounter.

It seems a curious form of communication, but interacting with trees is fundamental to the life of a bear. Rubbing up against a tree trunk, a form of scent marking, is used by bears as a courtship ritual and to identify potential mates. In a 2021 study published in PLOS One, researchers found a positive relationship between bear rubbing behavior in southwestern Alberta, Canada, and reproductive success. Bears with more offspring and mates were also detected at more "rub objects" in the studied area. A seemingly crucial part of their behavior, bears use scent marking to influence their next movements.

"If you're a female with cubs, you might smell a male and want to bugger off and get out of there," Mark Boyce, one of the researchers and an ecology professor at the University of Alberta, told The Wildlife Society. "Alternatively, if you're in heat, you might want to go find them."

Whether it's for food, shelter, or socializing, bears are said to favor certain species of tree, depending on where they live. Black bears like white oaks in Southern Appalachia, white pines in the Great Lakes, and cottonwoods in Wyoming. The grizzlies of Yellowstone also love whitebark pine, primarily for the sustenance it provides, and conifers like Engelmann spruce for scenting and socializing. So it's useful to know which bear-friendly trees are in the area, and which national parks host the largest bear populations.