10A | SATURDAY, AUGUST 31, 2019 | SIUSLAW NEWS
BEARS from page 1A
Kirchner said. “We have had
bear safety issues in Florence
and Dunes City all summer.
A bear went in a house twice
in Dunes City, opened slid-
ing glass doors and ate pet
food and other food items in
the kitchen. Another bear in
Dunes City had a confronta-
tion with a Labrador Retriev-
er in the homeowner’s yard,
then did damage to personal
property along the side of the
house. The homeowner shot
and killed this bear. In the
north Florence area, five bears
were seen in a resident’s yard.
These bears were breaking into
their garage multiple times,
tearing apart the door. The
resident attempted to haze the
bear away and also shot at the
ground near the bear to scare it
away, but it showed no fear of
humans. The bear also charged
at the resident then grabbed
the homeowner’s small pet dog
and carried it off.”
The number of incidents
where direct contact between
humans and bears occurs
infrequently, as bear have a
great sense of smell and usu-
ally avoid humans. There is,
however, a seasonal element to
these meetings, which are of-
ten centered around food.
There are some basic strat-
egies suggested by ODFW
and the USDA to minimize
the chances of a dangerous, or
even deadly human/bear inter-
action.
If you encounter a bear,
stop. Never approach a bear
at any time for any reason and
always give it space. Remem-
ber to leave any bear you en-
counter a way to escape. Walk
away slowly and step into the
house or garage. Then wait
and watch out windows for
the bear to leave.
It is also important to stay
calm. Do not run or make
sudden movements. Face the
bear and slowly back away.
Don’t make eye contact with
the bear and don’t run, which
could encourage the bear to
attack you.
In the unlikely event you
are attacked, fight back. The
best way to scare a bear is to
shout and be aggressive, use
rocks, sticks and hands. Do
not attack the animal. Mak-
ing noise as you are walking
through the woods also re-
duces the risk of surprising a
bear and always keep children
close by and in sight.
Perhaps most importantly,
never feed a bear. Keep gar-
bage, pet food and barbecues
secure, and clean up fruit tree
droppings and compost piles
to avoid attracting bears. Also,
feeding other animals, such as
birds and squirrels, will attract
bears.
One other tool to consid-
er, in order to make it safely
through a bear encounter,
is to carry and learn how to
properly use bear spray.
“Having bear spray is an
effective tool if a bear ap-
proaches too close or charges,”
Kirchner said. “Spray into the
mouth, nose and eyes of the
bear, then leave the area to
a secure structure such as a
house or car. Bears are active at
all hours of the day, but likely
encounters can occur during
dawn and dusk and at night.”
The public does have the
right to protect itself from
animal attacks and to avoid
property damage from wild-
life. The killing of a bear on
private property is legal under
most circumstances, with per-
mission of the property own-
er. However, there is some re-
quired documentation when
this type of culling occurs,
and the required information
to be filed can be found at the
ODFW website.
There are also reporting
requirements for all state em-
ployees that find themselves
in a situation where they kill
a bear, or other dangerous an-
imals, according to applicable
Oregon statue.
Any regional office of the
State Department of Fish and
Wildlife ordering the dispos-
al of an animal under sub-
section (3) of this section is
required to file a report with
the State Fish and Wildlife
Director within 30 days after
the disposal. The report shall
include, but need not be lim-
ited to, the loss incurred, the
financial impact and the dis-
position of the animal. The
director compiles all reports
received on a bimonthly basis
and these reports are available
to the public upon request.
The Florence City code is
also clear on this matter.
Florence City Code 6-6-
070: Feeding Wild Animals
Prohibited:
“No person shall scatter or
deposit any food or other at-
tractants on public or private
property with or without the
intent of attracting and/or
feeding wild animals, includ-
ing, but not limited to, bears,
seagulls, crows, pigeons, rac-
coons, feral cats, wild rabbits,
rodents, coyotes and deer.
Leaving food outside for any
purpose, including for the
purpose of feeding domestic
animals and pets, in a place
where wild animals can access
it is a violation of this section
if the food in fact becomes an
attractant for wild animals.”
Take the following steps to
protect people and bears:
• Remove all food attrac-
tants. Don’t leave food unat-
tended. Bears are creatures of
habit and will return to spots
where they have previously
found food.
• Do not feed the birds and
take down all feeders, includ-
ing hummingbird feeders,
and sweep up any seed on the
ground. In areas where bears
are a problem, we recommend
not feeding birds altogether.
There is plenty of natural food
for birds at this time of year.
• Do not burn garbage as
this is a strong attractant to
bears.
• Keep all doors and win-
dows closed and locked where
food is stored in permanent
structures.
• Keep all garbage inside
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your house or closed garage,
and only place it outside just
before garbage pick-up.
• Use bear-resistant garbage
cans. Call your garbage pro-
vider which may be able to
provide one.
• If bears have previous-
ly ransacked garbage cans,
clean cans with hot water and
bleach or ammonia to remove
odors.
• Double bag all garbage.
Use of ammonia-soaked rags
in and around the cans may
repel bears.
• Do not feed your pets
outside. Keep all pet food and
livestock feed inside the house
or garage.
• Clean up barbecue grills
and store them inside.
• Use three strands of low-
cost electric fencing as an easy
way to deter bears from chick-
en coops, fruit trees, compost
piles, beehives and garbage
cans.
The Oregon Department
of Fish and Wildlife has a
page dedicated to bear safety
practices and requirements
for filing the necessary paper-
work when a bear, or other
wild animal is killed, for more
information go to www.dfw.
state.or.us.
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