Death, decay and a dead bear | News, sports, jobs

Of course, it's always disappointing to see a wild animal lying dead on the side of the road, especially one as majestic as the black bear. However, as nature educators at ACNC, we can use unfortunate circumstances like this as a teaching opportunity, and I didn't want to miss this opportunity.

Now I like to think I'm good at working with the gritty side of nature. I packed up and transported some animals that I found on the side of the road. However, a Black Bear was a little outside my comfort zone and the capacity of my car trunk. So with a sense of urgency I continued on to ACNC and upon arrival I immediately called my colleague Katie to tell her the news and ask: “Do we want Black Bear?” The answer was of course yes.

I grabbed gloves, a local volunteer and his truck (thanks, Terry!), and copies of the New York State recovery permits from ACNC, and off we went to pick up the bear.

After arriving at the site and examining the bear, we were pleased to see that it must not have been there long. There was very little insect activity around it and the body was still easy to manipulate. The heavy bear proved too heavy for Terry and me, but the street cleaning crew arrived just in time. After reviewing our permits, they were happy to help us load the bear into the truck and send us on our way.

Finding bones is always a highlight for our students and campers, like the discovery of this deer vertebra. After decomposition, the bear's bones are left for students to explore and learn.

But why do we want this bear? In classroom programs, we often use real animal props to demonstrate animal adaptations. We even teach a bear program where we bring skulls, fur and paws to schools. However, this bear was not suitable for class visits and we had another plan. We decided this was a great opportunity to allow the decay to happen and give our students and campers a chance to witness this fascinating process firsthand.

After safely bringing the bear to ACNC, we released him into the forest. We knew we had students on school trips next week and this was a great opportunity to show them this part of the natural life cycle first hand. We found a spot that was easily accessible for groups, but far enough off the trail to keep unsuspecting visitors from stumbling over it, and let nature take its course.

Within a few days the bear changed completely. It went from a relatively normal-looking black bear to a barely recognizable collection of flies, maggots, beetles and other decomposers having the time of their lives. A few days later, the bear no longer had a bear shape, but rather resembled a bear-sized puddle of fur and bones.

The students who saw this bear in these stages were fascinated. Before visiting the bear, I took a group to the garden compost heap to introduce the topic of decomposition and explain what we would find in the forest. We talked about how the bear would benefit all the animals that would eat it and the plants that could grow from the nutrients it would add to the soil. While looking at the bear, students pointed out the many maggots, beetles, flies and worms. We observed which parts of the bear decomposed the fastest and guessed which parts would take the longest to decompose.

When we first approached the bear there were initially some “disgusting” reactions from the children and the smell was anything but pleasant, but the fascination won out and in the end it was difficult to convince the children to go away and have one to allow another group to investigate.

It is always a pleasure to introduce students to new things or new experiences. It's even more fulfilling when an experience they previously found disgusting or disgusting becomes one of their favorite parts of their ACNC visit. Yes, the decomposition can be gross. It stinks, the bugs are scary and it's sad to see a dead animal. But it also provides the perfect opportunity to talk about the circle of life, how dead and decaying things help the environment, and to give students a memorable and positive experience of this process.

The Audubon Community Nature Center builds and nurtures connections between people and nature. ACNC is located east of Route 62 between Warren and Jamestown. The hiking trails and outdoor areas are open from morning to evening. The nature center is open daily from 10 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., except Sundays when it opens at 1 p.m. For more information, visit online at auduboncnc.org or call (716) 569-2345.