Communicating With Bears: Black Bears: Bear Sounds

» JerryBear - Bear Sounds

Hi Connie!
Bears make a lot of similar sounds, but there are some differences. Black bears are quiter than grizzly bears, which tend to be the noisiest. Black bears are apt to go Woof! as a mark of alarm, surprise or excitement, but grizzlies often go Whoosh! and polar bears go Chuff!
Black bears sometimes hiss like a big cat but polar bears commonly do. Bears actually make quite a variety of sounds, but adults are usually fairly quiet. I think that grizzly adults are the most vocal. They are, at any rate, the ones most likely to growl (a most impressive and evocative sound) and roar . When grizzlies REALLY get going, you can hear them for miles, it is absolutely one of nature's most impressive sounds. If you hear two big male grizzlies roar furiously at close range while fighting it out, it can leave you shaken for days. Such an experience reaches far below the surface of the conscious mind down deep where our primal instincts lie. We are so out of touch with our deep animal instincts that it can be a truly shocking experience to have them suddenly awakened. Polar bears can roar most impressively too, but you are rather less likely to hear it. They are calmer and more even-tempered animals than grizzlies and are generally more sociable, cooperative and less aggressive towards each other too. Although polar bears are less likely to lose their tempers than grizzlies, their anger can be just as impressive when they finally do let it out.
Black bears, on the other hand, have a cooler, quieter style that is peculiarly their own, though some, especially big males are more grizzly like. Like some grizzlies, some black bears follow the dictum, "Don't get mad, get even!" I'll have to reserve details until my article on famous grizzly wars against the human race. No other animal gets revenge with the flair and style of a really pissed-off grizzly. Some of these vindictive critters have outsmarted the best human minds for years on end in their guerilla campaigns and earned reputations for absolutely diabolical cunning.

Yours Respectfully,

JerryBear

-- posted by JerryBear