"Don't Feed the Bears"!

“Don’t Feed the Bears”!

Wasn’t that a line from the old Winnie the Pooh movie? It’s been a long time since I watched that cartoon with my kids, but I think it was said by the stuttering, whistling badger … and I have to tell you that he had some good advice! We (and just about every other property here in Jackson) are plagued by black bears on an almost nightly basis. Earlier this summer I blogged about one that walked up to the front door, and I’ve also had them up at my cabin, only a pane of glass away from my face.

Many bears are not afraid of people these days, probably because some folks think it’s cute to feed them and the bears are now accustomed to handouts. (It happens on a societal level, too). When the bears don’t always get their fixes, their sense of entitlement prompts them to take more drastic measures, such as what was described in yesterday’s paper:

“The story of three bears may not have a happy ending. After being fed peanut butter sandwiches, a mama bear and two cubs broke into five homes looking for food earlier this week. The sow and her cubs have become somewhat domesticated after people had been feeding them peanut butter sandwiches. Jason Borgeson, in his fourth year as seasonal bear technician for U.S. Wildlife Service, confirmed Thursday that a trap has been set in the Hurricane Mountain Road area where he hopes to capture the mother and the cubs. Homes on Skyline Drive in Intervale and on nearby Hurricane Mountain Road and Crestwood Drive, located off Hurricane Mountain Road, have been vandalized by the three bears.

“While I was downstairs (at roughly 4 p.m. on Wednesday) on the computer I heard a couple of thumps coming from upstairs,” Marcia Burchstead, of Skyline Drive, said, by phone Thursday. “I was home alone and as I started up the stairs I heard a few more thumps. I opened the door a crack and saw a bear cub. I yelled as loud as I could, ‘Get out of my house!’ Then the mother came around the corner and ran out the screen door onto the deck. The two cubs tried to follow her, but ran into the glass windows. They didn’t get out, but the mother came back and grabbed one by the scruff of its neck and the other followed. I really wasn’t scared, I was more mad than anything.” Burchstead said fortunately damage was minimal at her home. She needed to get a couple of screens replaced and lost two pints of fresh blueberries. “Those buggers ate them all,” she said, laughing. “We’ve lived here for 17 years and never had a bear in the house. There are at least five houses in Bartlett that have been broken into. Jake (Borgeson) said what started all this was because some nitwit was feeding them peanut butter sandwiches.”

Burchstead said a residence on Hurricane Mountain Road suffered greater damage than her property Thursday. “They went to that home and tore the microwave out of the wall and tipped the refrigerator over and ate all the food,” she said. “Two different folks were actively feeding these bears,” N.H. Fish and Game conservation officer Brian Abrams said by phone Thursday. “These particular bears are now associating people with free food. By feeding them they’ve reduced the bears to being almost domesticated.”

Borgeson confirmed that one of the residences that was feeding bears actually became a victim of a bear break-in not once but twice, looking for easy food. “It’s completely unfortunate,” he said. “Our goal is to reduce as much conflict as possible. When bears become reliant on human sources, a fed bear often becomes a dead bear. We don’t typically do a lot of trapping and relocating of problem bears. At this point the problem may be to the point where we have to euthanize the mother and place the two cubs with a (wildlife) rehabilitator. For a bear to break into a home with a person there, that’s a problem bear.” Borgeson said relocating bears can be difficult because they often return to where they came from or show up at a new location and continue to pursue human food. “The bears are smart and are so easily habituated,” he said. Last year, 681 bear complaints were documented
in New Hampshire. More than half of these complaints were related to bears causing property damage. “Most of these incidents were caused by the presence of bird seed or garbage at the residence and could have been easily avoided if these attractants were removed,” said Andy Timmins, bear project leader for N.H. Fish and Game. “Although bears are shy and usually avoid humans, they are also opportunistic and will search for human food supplies when there’s little natural food available. Their keen sense of smell can lead them to trouble — both for themselves and humans. Maintaining a sustainable bear population in New Hampshire depends on minimizing human-bear conflicts.” The statewide black bear population is considered relatively stable and currently is about 4,800 bears. In 2006, the path was cleared for fines to be levied on anyone irresponsibly feeding bears. Fines can be as high as $1,000. “There have been fines issued this year,” Borgeson said. “Landowners need to realize that feeding bears is eventually going to destroy them.” Borgeson said a trap was set Thursday afternoon. “Our attempt is to try to catch her now,” he said. “We hate to see a bear be destroyed. What we had here was a healthy sow with two cubs and plenty of natural food. I’ve seen a good blueberry crop and a great raspberry crop this summer. We’re still in the transition period where the bears are switching over from the soft mass of berries in the summer to the fall mass of acorns and beechnuts.” Homeowners (and hotel guests!) should take action to reduce the chances of a bear (or raccoon) visiting their home (or their car in the parking lot). Borgeson said you can prevent bear visits by taking a few simple precautions:

• Clean up any spilled bird seed and dispose of it in the trash
• Secure all garbage in airtight containers inside a garage or adequate storage area, and put garbage out on   the morning of pick-up, not the night before.
• Avoid putting meat or other food scraps in your compost piles
• Don’t leave pet food dishes outside overnight.
• Clean and store outdoor grills after each use.
   Never intentionally feed bears.

These steps will help to ensure that your backyard does not become attractive to bears. This is importantbecause it prevents property damage by bears and because it keeps bears from becoming “nuisance” animals. “If you see a bear acting unusually comfortable around people, the best thing to do is to try and scare it off,” Borgeson said. “Everyone has pots and pans in their kitchen. Bang them, or a compressed air horn works very well. Sometimes you’ve got to be really stern with bears. Ninety-nine percent of the time it’s a people issue not a bear issue. Destroying bears is not the answer nor is relocating them. We need to educate the public.” U.S. Wildlife Services works in partnership with the N.H. Fish and Game Department to minimize wildlife-human conflicts, including those associated with black bears. In 2009, Wildlife Services fielded 2,062 wildlife-related requests for assistance, almost a full third (32 percent) of which involved bears. Each year, Wildlife Services also hires two bear technicians in New Hampshire during May through August, when the majority of bear complaints are received. These bear technicians, in partnership with N.H. Fish and Game Department field staff, work closely with the general public to educate them about bear behavior and to directly resolve bear/human conflicts. For more information on preventing conflicts with black bears, visit http://www.wildnh.com/Wildlife/ Somethings_Bruin.htm”

So this is just a word to the wise … be respectfully cautious in your interactions with wildlife. Wild animals are beautiful and fascinating to watch … but from a distance.

Raccoons and ‘Possums and Bears, Oh My!