Bear Safety Tips For Hikers And Recreationists

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With bears, the old adage, "An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure," couldn’t be more accurate.

"Many bears die because people unknowingly attract them with food. Once a bear associates homes or campsites with food, it is extremely hard to reverse that behavior," said Glenn Erickson, FWP Wildlife Division bureau chief. "Prevention is the best solution."

Grizzly bears’ attraction to garbage became world renowned in the 1950’s in Yellowstone Park when visitors considered viewing grizzlies eating at garbage dumps as a main attraction.

"The conservation of bears has come a long way since the 1950’s, but a bear’s appetite is unchanged," Erickson said. In addition to garbage, bears will seek out fruits and vegetables from gardens and orchards; livestock and pet food; honey or other sweets including candy bars or energy bars in a back pack; hummingbird feeders; suet and road kill to name some favorites.

Remember, out of sight is not out of mind to a bear driven by an overwhelming need for calories. The average bear requires in the neighborhood of 20,000 calories a day.

Erickson says the best remedy is to imagine a very hungry bear and then survey your home or campsite looking for even the smallest temptation to a hungry bear. Also recommended to help reduce attractants are:

Garbage: Use outside garbage cans for non-food items only and haul garbage to an approved disposal site at least once a week to avoid the build-up of odors.

Orchards: Electric fencing is the most effective way to keep bears out of orchards. Pick all ripe fruit from trees and from the ground as soon as possible.

Vegetable gardens: Locate gardens away from forests or shrubs for easy viewing and use electrical fencing. Enclose a compost pile in electric fencing to discourage bears. Don’t put meat, grease or bones in a compost pile.

Livestock and pet food: Store these foods in bear-proof containers and avoid spilling oats and pellets by feeding livestock from buckets or containers. Avoid leaving leftover livestock and pet food out overnight. These tips should be used when camping with horses and mules, as well as at home.

Honey: Protect beehives with electric fencing and by elevating the hives on platforms supported by metal poles that bears can’t climb.

Bird feeders: Keep hummingbird feeders suspended out of reach of bears and feed suet only during the winter.

"If a bear finds a homeowner or camper’s food supplies, garbage or livestock feed, it is critical to remove the attractant immediately," Erickson said. "Bears learn in one pass and the repeated use of a site is much harder to stop than a single instance. Bears will move on, if no attractants are there to entice them."

Erickson said that bears that learn to associate food with humans can become bold and dangerous. These bears usually have to be trapped and relocated, or killed.

"The best way to protect yourself and the bears of Montana is to avoid attracting bears in the first place," Erickson said.