20 Spring 2011 Applegater
BEAr
FrOm PAgE 1
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Young black bear by Steve Maslowski, USFWS
months. Weather starts to warm usually
in early March, and the bears wake and
begin raiding trashcans. 2010 was a strange
weather year, and the bears did not get really
active until May, so they slept longer, and
awoke hungrier. By mid to late summer, the
problem bears usually back off and go eat
blackberries. But in 2010, the local black-
berry crops were small, and the problem
bears did not relent. Fall of 2010 saw small
acorn crops as well, and without alterna-
tive natural foods, the bears remained near
people where food could be obtained.
Understanding bear behavior is key
to avoiding unwanted encounters. Bears
are ALL about food—every waking minute.
Average adult females weigh between 125
and 150 pounds, and males usually weigh
about 180 pounds, but can get as big as 300
or more pounds. All that bear takes a lot of
food! Thankfully, we’re not on the menu.
They are not looking to eat people. But they
are opportunist omnivores, which means
they eat almost anything. If a person, or
any other animal on the face of the earth
considers something food, a bear will likely
agree and eat even more! Favorite foods
are berries, nuts, grasses, carrion, and insect
larvae. Being opportunistic, though, means
that if food is easier to get at your house
they are happy to be your guest.
Prevention: take steps to avoid
contact
Bears can smell food from a much
greater distance than a human. The nasal
mucosa on a bear is reported to be about
100 times larger than a human. Just because
you don’t smell it doesn’t mean a bear won’t.
Take the following steps to reduce the odds
of an unwelcome encounter:
• TRASH: Keep your trash can clean,
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washing with ammonia or bleach, and
keep the can out of sight in an outbuild-
ing or under a tarp. Bears know what
trashcans look like.
BIRD FEEDERS: Taking a bird feeder
down for the evening may help if it has
attracted a bear previously. Consider
using a cloth under the feeder to catch
falling seeds. It will be easy to collect the
seeds and throw them away nightly.
PET/LIVESTOCK FOOD: Store food
in secured outbuildings or barn, prefer-
ably in a sealed container. This may
require chaining or locking barn doors.
FRUIT TREES: Hot-wire fencing is
an option. If you only have a few trees,
it may be sufficient to simply pick fruit
ASAP and don’t let fruit ferment on the
ground.
AROUND THE FARM: Delectable
smells can come from many sources,
such as compost piles, chicken coops,
or beehives. Avoid adding to compost
piles when bears are around and make
sure coops and pens are sturdy. Hot wire
is an option.
AROUND THE HOUSE: Clean out-
door cooking areas and keep your BBQ
in an outbuilding or under a tarp. Don’t
put refrigerators, freezers, or other food
appliances outside.
SCARE TACTICS: Bears will generally
avoid areas with one or more of the fol-
lowing: large barking dogs, lights that
come on and off with a motion detector,
a sprinkler with a motion detector, or a
radio set on a timer.
What to do if you see a bear
Spotting a bear can be exciting or
frightening depending on the circum-
stances. Black bears have color vision along
with that keen sense of smell mentioned
earlier. They are good tree climbers and
swimmers, are very intelligent and curious,
and can run up to 35 mph! Most injuries
occur when people treat wild bears as pets
by leaving food out for them (inadvertently
or not), trying to get pictures, or otherwise
interacting.
Bears are typically shy and easily
frightened unless they have become habitu-
ated to humans. If you know the bear is
around, just say NO! At night, leave more
lights on. Be especially observant, and make
loud noise when outside, especially when
going around a blind corner. Frequently,
loud noise will scare away a bear—bang pots
and pans, set off your car alarm, safely shoot
a gun. Let him know you are not pleased!
If you come face to face with a bear,
avoid eye contact and back away. Do NOT
scream and run like a prey animal! Yogi may
Williams Valley Soil Supply
be cute, but bears need to be treated with
respect. Educate kids. Keep kids close and
avoid outdoor play at dawn and dusk. If
your child tries to run at the sight of a bear
pick your child up and speak calmly. Back
away slowly and do not block the bear’s
escape route. Remember the bear is scared
too. The bear may stand up to sniff or get
a better view. Remain calm and continue
to back slowly away avoiding eye contact.
It’s also a good idea to alert neighbors about
a bear sighting. You should also report
sightings and encounters to your local
ODFW office.
If you find a bear helping itself to the
sunflower seeds you put in a metal can for
bird feeding, or the oats for the horses, or
the overripe produce you failed to discard,
do not attempt to chase the bear off. It
may protect its food source. Instead, make
a loud noise as described above and try to
scare the bear away. Then take action to
remove food sources.
Typical bear encounters and the
law
There have been no reports of un-
provoked black bear attacks in Oregon.
But if a bear exhibits unusually aggressive
or persistent behavior, safety issues may be
addressed through lethal means. Jackson
County has a USDA Wildlife Services
agent to assist people with bear removal,
but Josephine County does not. Relocation
is not an option. Relocated problem bears
usually return from great distance to where
they were captured, and if they don’t, they
invariably find the nearest campground or
home and continue their problem behavior.
Most bear complaints are “nuisance”
complaints. These problems can usually be
solved non-lethally, through preventative
action. But if bears aren’t stopped at the
nuisance level, they typically progress to
damage-level problems. Damage is defined
in the Oregon statute as “loss of or harm
inflicted on land, livestock, or agricultural
or forest crops.” Damage may legally be
addressed through lethal means, but bear
damage may also be addressed through
preventative/protective means.
Bears that come into frequent con-
tact with people may become human safety
threats. Threat to human safety is defined
in statute as
“A) Aggressive actions directed to-
wards a person or persons, including, but
not limited to, charging, false charging,
growling, teeth popping, and snarling.
B) Breaking into, or attempting to
break into a residence.
C) Attacking a pet or domestic
animal as defined in ORS 167.310. And
D) Loss of wariness of humans, displayed
through repeated sightings of the animal
during the day near a permanent structure,
permanent corral, or mobile dwelling used
by humans at an agricultural, ranching, or
construction site.”
Nothing in the wildlife laws is
intended to prevent any person (or their
agent) from taking a bear that is causing
damage or posing a human safety threat.
(ORS 498.012). A tag is not required
to take the animal, day or night, on the
property where the damage or safety issue
occurred, but the following rules apply:
1) immediately after taking the bear,
Oregon State Police must be notified (this is
what separates you from a poacher).
2) Bear meat is considered edible
for human consumption, just like a deer or
elk, and cannot be wasted. So field dress-
ing the bear is required, and depending
on the circumstances, the landowner may
or may not be allowed to keep the bear.
Landowners may give their bear to anyone
they choose, or ODFW will see that it goes
to charity. Wasting bear meat is illegal. 3)
The head of the bear must be brought to an
ODFW office for data collection and tooth
extraction. All bear hunters are required by
law to bring their bear heads to ODFW for
data collection and tooth extraction. You
can contact Rosemary Stussy of ODFW
at 541-826-8774 to report problem bears.
Ecosystem role
Whether you enjoy seeing the oc-
casional bear or wish you didn’t live among
them, they do fill a role in the ecosystem.
According to the website of the National
Park Service (www.nps.gov) the black bear
is at the top of the food chain and as such
influences prey populations by culling the
unhealthy in the herd/flock. Foraging
activities aid decomposition of the forest
as they tear apart logs in search of insect
larvae. Insects become less numerous as
the larvae is eaten. Seeds of various plants
are distributed in a greater area as the bears
consume berries, other fruits, acorns and
grass seed along with various other plants.
It benefits the forest and the prey
populations to keep a healthy bear popula-
tion. You can do your part to keep nature
in balance by following the suggestions in
this article to keep the bears in the forest.
Getting to see a bear and her cubs cross the
road in front of you is exciting. Coming out
in the morning to find a bear has broken
into the trashcan and strewn trash about
can make for a cranky way to start the day.
Tamara Rousso
541-846-0826
