I finally set a camera on a power pole after saying for years I should. They bears have chewed up all the power poles on the lane.
The first several weeks were dead except for a sow and 2 cubs. In the last 2 weeks of June, there were multiple bears and lots of action.
I wish I left it on video but changed it to stills for battery life. Anyway, you can see this guy ripping the wood off the pole. There is a piece in his mouth.
It was 70 inches level with his head in the pic. I measured it.
The same evening that I checked the camera I saw a good sized bear in the field. Maybe, the same one in the pix. I think he was looking for something as he circled a bit. My guess was bird nests in the grass. They have already trashed a few of my too low bird boxes.
The result after he was done above.
He, and others, also did back rubs to leave scent.
I have wondered why they loved the poles so much. They do hit living trees a fair bit but the poles don’t have branches and the preservative on them may hold scent. There was a little mound a few inches high he was using in the first pic. It would be interesting to see his reaction to a mound a foot high or even a box to stand on. It would likely be like found money to him. The height of the bites on the pole are an ad saying I am this big and be warned. The lane parallels the brook so it may be a travel corridor for them too. The road would be easier on their pads than sharp sticks, etc in the woods. There are bear trails around now where they place their feet in the same spot each time. They like to avoid foot injury as much as we do.
I need to put one out to see which dog shits in my yard every morning.