Eagle Times Staff
CONCORD, N.H. — Granite State residents and visitors are being reminded to remain responsible and do their part to prevent bear conflicts during the remainder of summer and through the fall. While natural foods have become much more abundant since spring, bears can still be tempted by common attractants such as unsecured garbage, bird feeders, unprotected poultry, and handouts at campgrounds, parks and on hiking trails.
“Overall bear–human conflicts have been average this year, but agency wildlife biologists continue to invest a lot of time in addressing conflicts related to accessible garbage, unsecured chicken coops and bird feeders,” said Andrew Timmins, game programs supervisor for the New Hampshire Fish and Game Department. “These attractants are the root of over 75% of the annual bear calls and are perennial from one year to the next, often at the same locations. The public can prevent attracting bears by making some changes on their end. If bears are getting into your garbage, try something different like storing garbage in a secure building or going to the transfer station more frequently. Most dumpsters lack metal, locking tops and are easily accessible by bears and other wildlife. Reach out to your waste management company and request adequate tops that keep bears out. If you raise poultry, invest in electric fencing that protects the birds. The Fish and Game Department loans out a hundred or more electric fences each summer to protect poultry from bear damage. The purpose of the loan program is to demonstrate the effectiveness of the equipment to help convince poultry owners to make the investment.”
“The presence of bears on hiking trails in the White Mountains has been widely publicized in recent weeks,” said Dan Bailey, bear project leader for the New Hampshire Fish and Game Department. “These reports were related to what appeared to be a single, juvenile bear exhibiting begging behavior in an area heavily utilized by hikers. Over a million people hike in the White Mountains each summer without incident and seeing a bear on the trail is not uncommon. Bears and hikers need to share space. While most bears will run off when they smell, see, or hear you, bears that are tossed food by hikers may develop panhandling behavior. This is not aggressive behavior. Rather it is a bear manipulating humans for a food reward.”
“The public should not feel uncomfortable enjoying the outdoors,” said Timmins. “Bears are just another native, wild animal that occupies our forests. People and bears can successfully coexist but it requires increased human responsibility to eliminate food attractants.”
Help coexist with bears and avoid conflicts:
- Stop feeding wild birds by April 1. If you live south of the White Mountains, consider removing bird feeders by March 15 or at the onset of spring-like weather conditions, whichever comes first since conditions fluctuate throughout the state.
- Clean up any spilled birdseed and dispose of it in a secured trash container.
- Secure all garbage in airtight containers inside a garage or adequate storage area, and put garbage out on the morning of pickup, not the night before. If using a dumpster, inform your dumpster company that you need one with metal locking tops and doors that are inaccessible to bears and other wildlife.
- Never put meat scraps in your compost pile.
- Don’t leave pet food dishes outside overnight.
- Clean and store outdoor grills after each use.
- Never deliberately feed bears. You will be encouraging these animals to rely on human-related foods which will affect their wild behavior and reduce their chance of survival.
- Always utilize a food storage container when backcountry camping or hiking.
- Secure food in a locked vehicle or outbuilding when front country (i.e., car) camping.
Visit bearwise.org/ for helpful information on living responsibly with black bears.
If you have questions regarding bear-related issues, you can get advice by calling the NH Fish and Game Department’s Wildlife Division at 603-271- 2461.
