FEEDING BEARS IS DANGEROUS FOR PEOPLE AND FOR BEARS

Montana Ourdoors
Diane Tipton

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Bears are quick learners according to Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks Grizzly Bear Management Specialist Tim Manley. "When people who live in bear country feed bears, whether it’s grizzly bears or black bears, they are essentially teaching bears to come to houses to eat," Manley says. While most of the feeding is unintentional, some may be deliberate. "Either way, feeding bears endangers both the people and the bears." Spring, when bears are coming out of hibernation, is a great time for residents who live close to bear habitat to check around their homes and outbuildings to put away any grain, dog food, birdseed or hummingbird feeders, compost or open garbage receptacles that could attract bears. "It’s so easy for bears to get needed calories from human-related food sources that they stop seeking their natural foods," Manley says. "These bears eventually get into trouble because they return again and again to populated areas." These "food-conditioned" bears often end up dead bears. When the bear is reported, it may be removed and relocated. FWP manages nuisance bears within guidelines that usually result in the removal of the bears with a "three strikes you’re out" policy. Bears that are relocated and return repeatedly are euthanized because they are so bold around humans at that point they become a threat to public safety. According to Manley, many bears can be spared this fate if landowners "bear-proof" their homes and outbuildings by removing or securing attractants like livestock feed (3-way, horse cake, pellets), pet food, bird feeders (suet, sunflower seeds, millet, corn, hummingbird feeders) and garbage, and avoid feeding wildlife. FWP is also partnering with the Wind River Bear Institute to develop new techniques to help bears to change their problem behavior. The Institute’s "Partners In Life" Program works in northwestern Montana teaching residents to secure or remove bear attractants and "teaching" problem bears at the conflict site to avoid human territory. The program uses aversive conditioning tools such as specially trained Karelian bear dogs, rubber bullets and noise to leave bears with a very negative impression of what happens when they cross human boundaries. It, in effect, reverses positive conditioning a bear may have picked up when unintentionally or intentionally fed by humans. While this program is proving to be very successful and could be applied to any human-bear conflict, it mainly reaches bears in grizzly country. "Wherever bears are located in the state, we need to make a real effort to prevent them from learning bad behaviors," Manley says. "People who live and work in bear country are the key to our success. Together, by securing attractants, we can save a lot of time and resources in relocating or retraining bears and in the end we’ll save a lot of bears’ lives." Any home next to Montana’s forests or wild lands may be within bear country. Bears also may occasionally wander into towns and neighborhoods searching for food. Anything people or their pets eat will attract bears. Bears learn quickly where to find these sources of food and make a habit of returning. People who live in or near bear habitat can prevent good bears from learning bad-bear behavior by eliminating bear attractants. Here are some tips. Around the Yard:

• Secure horse feed, duck, trout and other feed in heavy duty storage containers. Rubber or plastic containers are not bear-proof.
• Food from barbeques and picnics should not be left outdoors unattended, especially overnight.
• Coolers are not bear-proof.
• Replace hummingbird feeders with hanging flower baskets, also attractive to hummingbirds.
• Birdfeeders attract bears. Eliminate them or hang them 10 feet up and 4 feet out from the nearest trees. Use a rope and pulley system to refill them and clean up seeds that spill onto the ground. Birdfeeders should be taken down between April 1 and December 1.
• Pet food should be stored inside and pets fed inside. If you must feed pets outdoors, feed only as much as they will eat. Avoid leaving pet-food dishes full of food, and pick up dog bones with meat on them from the backyard and kennel.
• Barbeque grills should be cleaned and stored after each use in a secure shed or garage away from windows and doors.
• Fruit should be picked from trees when ripe and fallen fruit immediately collected. Do not allow fruit to rot on the ground.
• Compost piles should be limited to grass, leaves, and garden clippings, and turn piles regularly. Adding lime can reduce smells and help decomposition. Do not add food scraps. Kitchen scraps can be composted indoors in a worm box with minimum odor and the finished compost can later be added to garden soil.
• Gardens should be harvested immediately as vegetables, fruits and herbs mature. Locate gardens away from forests and shrubs that bears may use for cover. Do not use blood meal.
• Landscaping, especially clover and dandelions will attract bears. Use native plant landscaping whenever possible, and do not seed in clover.
• Beehives, honey and bee larvae are especially attractive to bears. If you keep hives, elevate them on bear-proof platforms or erect properly designed electric fences.
• Do not put out feed for wildlife (corn, oats, pellets, 3-way, molasses blocks).

• Store garbage in bear-resistant garbage cans or dumpsters. Rubber or plastic garbage cans are not bear-proof.
• Keep garbage inside secure building until morning of pickup.
• Store empty recyclable containers, such as pop cans, indoors-the sweet smells attract bears.
• Decrease odors by storing garbage in tightly tied, heavy-duty bags, and garbage cans with tight lids.
• Remove garbage regularly.
• Store especially smelly garbage, such as meat or fish scraps, in a freezer until they can be taken to a refuse site.