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Co-existing with Bears
Written By: Donna Rhodes | Issue: April 2024 | Photograph By: Tiho Trichkov
Life with black bears requires a healthy dose of common sense and a bit of respect.
Mountaintop residents are lucky to live in the midst of Nature’s best. But we have to remind ourselves that we moved into the homes of animals, not the other way around. Mother Nature has a Rulebook.
There is something compelling about large beasts. Black bears are the best. But their intrigue fools us into thinking we could just run up and scrunch their thick, inviting fur, then run away before Pooh even notices. After a couple of beers, it starts to be an even better idea.
Here’s what the wildlife experts with the Southeastern Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies tell us: How to co-exist with bears. Parentheticals are shared by the author, who is not a wildlife expert, but smart enough to acknowledge her wisdom and preservation/cowardice.
1. Never feed or approach bears. (Bears mostly want to eat easy-to-get forest stuff – or barbecue leftovers. But don’t be near a bear when it’s foraging, which is most of the time. In fact, just don’t be near a bear.)
2. Secure food, garbage, and recycling. (Otherwise, it’s a bear’s smorgasbord and a splintered deck.)
3. Remove bird feeders when bears are active. (Bears are opportunists. Why walk a mile to the garbage bins when they can smack down a convenient mouthful of seedy snacks?)
4. Avoid leaving pet foods outside. (Even heavy-duty plastic containers are no more than tissue paper to a bear. It’s Christmas-wrapping for bear kibbles.)
5. Clean grill; store if possible. (A bear’s sniffer is seven times that of a bloodhound – those scraped salmon crumbles are bear claw kabobs. And they’re sniffed from a mile away.)
6. Let neighbors know about bear sightings. (Knowing is so much better than having a bear do a Wreck-it Ralph in your neighbor’s storage shed.)
If you’ve followed all the above advice, and you’re accidentally in a muzzle-to-muzzle situation, here are ways to encourage a bear to back down without losing your lunch (in more ways than one). Look for these cues:
• Teeth clacking, moaning, rumbling, huffing, puffing (the bear, not you)
• Stomping the ground
• To get a better look, it might stand really tall.
• If it’s super agitated, it might charge – bluffing, then stopping
These are your cues to hold your ground and holler, squawk, make lots of noise, and stand giant-tall as you back away. As tempted as you’ll be, do not run away, unless your visiting kerfuffle cousin runs a lot slower than you – kidding! Everybody back out together and the bear will likely snort and disappear in the underbrush.
