"Black Bears are the only type of bear found in Shenandoah National Park. Although they are carnivores, their diet is quite varied. They'll eat grubs and other insects, roots, flowers, grasses, acorns, fruit, and carrion, as well as ground hogs, deer, and other mammals.

Bears in the park enter winter dens in October and November, but some may rove about all winter if the temperature is mild. Females will have their cubs around February, and nurse their infants in the den. They'll emerge in April or May, usually after the adult males have been out of their own dens for a while.

Mating time is early to mid summer. A female will keep her newborn cubs with her until she is ready to mate again, every other year. The park believes there are from 300 to 500 bears in Shenandoah National Park." (Shenandoah National Park Natural Resource Guide, 2003)

This year we are told the black bears in the park are prolific and that many of them have had three cubs.