OK, Bear. Now What?

[GBBUDD]

Fire works are legal today due to pests. They started with lower class fireworks to scare wood chucks etc. And a simple handful dropped out the window in your back yard is one way to say to the bear your home is not a nice quiet meal, and they will listen. A simple motion sensor will let you know they are back. It would take allot more then them coming in the yard for me to call some bureaucrat who will just put the animal down. The Big no no with black bear is to corner them NEVER Block there exit. 99% of the time if you give them a way out they will leave without any problems. And the Mother bear with the babies she just wants to find food for the kids and keep them safe like any good mom. A first time mom when she has her first child and the relatives come over and someone has the sniffles you can be sure they won't get near the baby. By the time mom is on her third baby and someone wants to see the baby mom is like yeah sure just don't hurt the kid or i'll rip your head off. One theory you never want to try but it explains why some mother bears bring there kids close to people and others are very posturous when they see you close to the cubs.

 

[JamieB]

Id be getting a dog to let me know when the bear is around, and keeping a stash of bottle rockets to scare it off. Then if that didn’t work, I’d consider calling fish and game. Not too impressed with most of them, the guys in Arkansas refused to believe multiple folks reporting cougars, till a guy caught video on his deep cam they couldn’t deny.

 

[Somethin' Fishy]

Here in this area of the south east (western N.C., east T.N., and north GA), there is a high density of black bears. Wildlife agencies in this area are well aware of the bear density and its proximity to human settlement and activity, and the impact on both. These agencies are staffed with biologists and folks educated in the task of conservation and public safety, they are not the boogie man. The last thing they want to do is kill a bear, but unfortunately, if a bear shows bold and aggressive behavior, they will have no choice for the sake of public safety.

Relocating “problem” bears isn’t an effective solution, as bears that have habituated to human food & activity will not “unlearn” their behavior, and will often return to the exact same areas.

Wildlife agencies will not send out officers for every phone call they get of a mere bear sighting. However, they are more than happy to point the public to resources to educate them on how to avoid human/bear conflicts. This is why calling your local agency, that is most familiar with the wildlife of that specific area, is a good idea. It is a much better way to become educated than a google search or listening to your neighbor’s old wives tales.

I’m personally involved in helping educate outdoor enthusiasts in bear and wildlife safety and responsibility. The biggest part of that education is how to AVOID a problem to begin with, by altering our behavior when we set foot into the wild. Likewise, we need to modify our behavior when wildlife sets foot into our backyards.

Hopefully, the bear visiting the O.P. is just interested in getting a drink now and then. Hopefully, it will eventually move on. One of the best ways to make sure this bear doesn’t become habituated is to remove all temptations that could spell disaster for the bear or people nearby.

 

[GBBUDD]

Your visitor has a magnificent coat. After dogs and fish i think i lov bears next. i found these little guys on the edge of the row. Mom was uneasy so we did not get any closer then when we found them. unfortunately this was the best i could get through the trees

 

[addy1]

aww cuties! I like bears, but hope they never visit our bee hives.