Safety and Coexistence

Black Bear video from Issaquah Highlands, Washington

Posted: by Cathy Macchio

Since early summer I set up a remote camera in Issaquah Highlands in hopes of capturing a photo of the resident black bear. Finally in September, I was thrilled to finally capture this video of the bear, but I was not happy the bear was eating garbage.

For the past several years black bears have been lured into our neighborhood for a buffet of treats from our garbage that many people leave outside their homes. This past summer the bears were frequent visitors to Wisteria Park where I set up a remote camera in Maggie’s yard. The bears were entering the neighborhood through her yard, as well as other neighbors’ yards. Once the bears smelled ripe garbage they wandered down the alley pulling out trash from garbage cans and brought the garbage back to Maggie’s yard where they ripped open the bags to eat everything.

Maggie and some of her neighbors living next to the greenbelt store their garbage in their garages until the morning of pick-up to deter bears. Unfortunately, many of her neighbors do not follow the same Bear Smart practices;see tips for coexistence at https://westernwildlife.org/black-bears/tips-for-coexistence/. In 1995 a study in Pinetop Lakes, Arizona showed that by storing garbage inside until the morning of garbage pick-up reduced bear/garbage incursions from 68% to just 2% http://www.bearsmart.com/report/321.

Bears have an acute sense of smell. They can smell garbage that is stored outside and birdseed from a mile away. Bears also have an incredibly good memory. Once a bear finds a food source, such as garbage, birdseed, even biodiesel, it makes a mental map and will then return year after year to that site. That is why it is especially important to be consistent and for everyone in a neighborhood to always store their garbage inside or in a bear resistant container.

If you are having problems with garbage and bears in your neighborhood, you may want to talk with your neighbors about what they can do to prevent bear incursions or just print this bear smart check list at the bottom of the page https://westernwildlife.org/our-work/gbop-products/ and send it to your neighbors. That is what I did in my community in the Issaquah Highlands, and it is making a difference for us and the bears.

No evidence of rising human-grizzly encounters

Posted: by Cathy Macchio

According to a N.Y. Times article, the recent news about attacks by grizzly bears in Montana may have people concerned that human-bear encounters are on the rise, but this is not true. Human-bear encounters remain relatively rare. Some interesting statistics:

  • 62 million visitors have been to Yellowstone National Park from 1980-2002 and only 32 injuries were caused by bears.
  • According to Park Officials the chance of being injured by a bear in Yellowstone Ntional Park is 1 in 1.9 million.
  • From 1900-2004 grizzly bears have killed 87 people across North America according to Ainslie Willock president of the Get Bear Smart Society based in Whistler, B.C.

 

In fact, Eric Kezsler of Wyoming Game and Fish states there have not been more bear encounters than usual this year. Aside form the bizarre grizzly bear attack that occurred in the Soda Butte Campground in Montana on July 28, 2010, the Montana Fish and Wildlife spokesman states this year has been pretty typical in respect to bears.

Usually grizzly bears attack because they are defending their young, a food source or are suddenly surprised. None of these scenarios apply to the grizzly bear attack that occurred to the three campers in the Soda Butte Campground, where one man was killed and two others were injured. Officials are baffled as to why the attacks occurred. An interagency team will be investigating the incident and releasing a report in the next couple of weeks.

You can learn much more about recreating safely in bear country and what to do if you encounter a bear on our website under bear safety.

Biggest Bear Bust…. Ever

Posted: by snegri

If you have ever considered feeding a wild bear, what occurred near Oysterville, Washington this last week will make you think twice! As a result of a couple feeding bears dog food, ten bears had to be removed from the area and five were subsequently killed because they had become too habituated to humans and were considered dangerous. Rich Beausoleil, of Washington Fish and Wildlife, told the Chinook Observer, “this was the worst case I’ve seen in my career.” According to the article:

A record 10 black bears were removed from property about a mile north of Joe Johns Road and on Stackpole where a couple had been feeding bears “up to $4,000 of dog food per year” from information obtained by WDFW. The offending parties “are now cooperating fully” according to WDFW enforcement officer Patrick Anderson, who assisted Beausoleil with removing seven adults and three cubs. WDFW Lt. Dan Chadwick also helped with the operation.

The feeding had been going on for some time, but the problems “exploded” this year, according to many neighbors. Hungry bears use to human contact had knocked a hole in a garage door, destroyed a freezer, and downed a fence on at least three properties.

…Sadly, we believe other people knew of the situation and didn’t report it right away. If they had, we could have intervened and probably could have saved all the bears.”

One of GBOP’s objective is to remind people that while it is exciting and thrilling to see wildlife (at a safe distance!) it is never a good idea to feed them.  We go to great lengths to remind homeowners that there are simple steps to take in and around the home that will keep bears and deer wild and people safe. These simple steps include keeping garbage, pet food, and bird feeders out of wildlife’s reach but there are many more you can read on our website under cougar, bear, and wolf safety.

To read the entire Chinook Observer article, click here

Don’t forget – Bear Affair at Woodland Park Zoo this weekend!

Posted: by cmorgan

You won’t want to miss this!

Just a friendly reminder that it’s the annual Bear Affair at Woodland Park Zoo this weekend. This event is a real crowd-pleaser! Come and learn first hand why it’s important to store your food and garbage carefully and securely when you’re in the backcountry, or at home in bear country.

Learn first-hand from Grizzly Bear Outreach Field Representative Julie Hopkins on the do’s and don’ts of setting up a safe campsite. As the Zoo’s two 900 pound grizzly bears stumble upon a makes shift campsite, Julie will share how to stay safe in bear country and the role these large carnivores play in the ecosystem.

Sponsored by Brown Bear Car Wash, the event is free with Zoo admission or membership. For more information, visit the Zoo’s website.