Wildlife Biology Class Studies Black Bear Physiology

In the process, they wanted to articulate a bear skeleton to add to the growing number of wildlife specimens on display in the E. E. Just Environmental Center. Because New Hampshire’s black bear population is fewer than 6000 individuals, I was skeptical that we’d be able to obtain a specimen; however, New Hampshire state bear biologist Andrew Timmons came to the rescue and delivered a 130 pound sow that had been hit by a vehicle while foraging along a roadside with her cubs. The cubs are now in the care of a wildlife rehabilitation center in Lyme, NH. Bears have gross anatomy remarkably similar to humans, so dissecting one is a lot grittier than the typical high school frog dissection. Students have risen to the challenge, and with the soft tissue dissection complete, we have begun to examine the skeletal system and prepare bones for eventual articulation and display.