Black bears may confuse nestboxes with feeders, or they may learn that an easy meal resides inside. They seem to prefer eggs and unfeathered nestlings.
Signs of a bear attack include a torn up or mangled box. Claw marks are often visible, and as you can see from the photo below, the mounting pole may also be bent.
May 29, 2008 - Take Your Pick (parents feeding fledgling)
June 10, 2008 - That Look Belongs in a Holster (female MOBL)
You cannot begin to preserve any species of animal unless you preserve the habitat in which it dwells. Disturb or destroy that habitat and you will exterminate the species as surely as if you had shot it. So conservation means that [we] have to preserve forest and grassland, river and lake, even the sea itself. This is vital not only for the preservation of animal life generally, but for the future existence of man himself—a point that seems to escape many people.
-Gerald Durrell, The Nature Conservancy
