Black bear dens in northwest Montana come in a variety of types. The most common den consists of where a large tree toppled over years ago, bringing up a large amount of soil with the roots. Black bears will hollow out an area under the fallen tree where the trunk meets the roots. Usually, these cavities are not that much larger than the bear itself. There may or may not be nesting material, which usually consists of rotted wood, chewed off bushes, or conifer branches. I found a couple of dens in the Yaak where bears had spent considerable time stripping adjacent cedar trees of their bark to make some very cozy nests.
While working in the Yaak on my M.S. Degree, it was not uncommon to find where black bears used large, old cedars for denning purposes. These dens could either be in the base of a hollowed-out tree, or some considerable distance up the tree. One den that I found was 70-80’ above the ground! Old cedars typically will have several tops and with a hollow interior. If one of the tops breaks away, it provides bears access to the hollow interior. One den tree I found was a “condominium”, with one den at the base of the tree and a second 20-30’ above ground. Another den was inside a large, old cedar that had snapped off completely about 15-20’ above ground and was similar to a chimney. We were able to climb up and look down upon the denning female below. She apparently was satisfied with dealing with falling snow from above, as long as she was protected from the wind and predators on all sides.
Other black bear dens I have seen were in small caves, rock crevices, hollow logs, slash piles and rock overhangs. Probably the most unique den I have ever seen, was where a bear denned in an abandoned wolf den! Unfortunately for the bear, the wolves also returned to den nearby. As soon as the wolves left in early July, we hurried to the site to determine the bear’s fate. Bear hair and bones were found about 100 yards away, clearly indicating the outcome.
While black bear dens are almost always found at low to mid elevations, grizzly dens are almost always found on a steep, remote slope above 6,000’. Grizzlies have long claws that they use for digging, and they are quite adept at digging dens straight into a mountainside that might be 8’ or more from the den entrance to the back of the chamber. They may or may not dig under a tree or large rock that helps to stabilize the material above them. Dens might be in forested areas, or right out in the open. Their dens are almost always lined with beargrass, which is probably how this plant got its name. They also like to add the chewed off branches of Subalpine Fir and Menzesia, a high elevation shrub that gives their beds some additional “springiness”.
Twice I have seen where grizzlies denned in limestone caves. In both instances, a large amount of “soil” derived from decomposed organic material from earlier winter beds indicated the caves had likely been used by grizzlies for centuries.
One of the more unique examples of a grizzly bear denning, didn’t involve a den at all. About 5 years ago we had an instrumented female grizzly that decided to den in the upper Pinkham Creek area. Twice during the winter, the location was pinpointed from the air. When we went to the site to get an idea of what she had used, all we found was a large nest of beargrass against a fallen log. We are unsure if she dug into an existing snowdrift like a polar bear, or simply let the snow fall on her like an Eskimo’s sled dog, with her body heat eventually forming a cavity. Under what seems like unbelievable conditions, she was also able to successfully produce 2 cubs!
Trego's Mountain Ear 