Feeding Bears is Dangerous for Bears and People

Bears are beginning to awaken from hibernation and Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks bear management specialists are preparing for another busy year.

The majority of calls that FWP receives about bears are the direct result of garbage and other food-related bear attractants.

“We can save a lot of bears’ lives simply by eliminating their access to garbage and other food-related bear attractants, ” said Jamie Jonkel, FWP bear management specialist in Missoula. “When an individual or a community makes that commitment, they create safer communities and prevent bears from having to be destroyed.”

Anything people or their pets eat will attract bears. Bears learn quickly where to find food and make it a habit to return.

Jonkel said those living on the boundaries between bear habitat and residential areas have more opportunity than most people do to protect bears from becoming habituated to food and complacent around humans.

“Landowners bordering bear habitat are the “buffer” between bears and the more heavily populated areas,” Jonkel said. “If these landowners are responsible and eliminate a bear’s access to bird feeders, grain, garbage and other food sources they help prevent bears from moving on to the more populated residential areas where they are sure to get into trouble.”

“Our goal is to help people live safely and responsibly with bears,” Jonkel said.

For details on bear proofing a home or community, contact an FWP regional office or call 406-542-5508.

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Around the Yard:

• It is best not to have bird feeders, but if you do, bird and hummingbird feeders should be hung 10 feet up and 4 feet out from the nearest trees and with a rope and pulley system for refilling them.
• Do not put out salt licks, grain, or deer blocks to attract wild animals as these create areas of concentrated animal scent that will then draw in bears and mountain lions.
• Pet food should be stored inside and pets fed inside. If you must feed pets outdoors, sweep up any spilled food immediately and bring bowls in at night.
• Barbeque grills should be cleaned and stored after each use in a secure shed or garage.
• 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.
• Use native plant landscaping whenever possible. Avoid clover and dandelions, which attract bears.
• Beehives, honey and bee larvae are especially attractive to bears. If you keep hives, elevate them on bear-proof platforms.

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Garbage:

• Store garbage in bear-resistant garbage cans or dumpsters, or, store food-related garbage in a secure building bears can’t get into.
• Securely store empty recyclables, 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.
• Store especially smelly garbage, such as meat or fish scraps, in a freezer until they can be taken to a refuse site.
• Remove garbage regularly.