KINGSPORT, Tenn. (AP) - If you don’t bother a black bear, chances are it’s not going to bother you.
That’s the message from Fred Hilton, senior naturalist at Bays Mountain Park, on what to do in case you encounter a black bear in the woods or in your neighborhood.
A woman recently contacted The Kingsport Times-News about spotting a black bear in the Lynn Garden community, and though the park has not received any calls this year about bear sightings, Hilton said it is that time of the year when bears in our region start becoming more active.
“(Bears) don’t always hibernate in this area. Our winters aren’t that harsh so while they sleep a lot, they can be active off and on throughout the winter,” Hilton said. “As it starts to warm up, males especially start moving and looking for mates. If they’re three years old and broken away from their mother, they start looking for their own territories.”
The size of a bear’s territory is a function of the availability of food. If the land has adequate or excessive food, then the bear’s territory could be small. If there’s little to no food around, then the territory could extend for several miles.
“(Bears) are more active at night, but they can be active any time of day,” Hilton said. “One of the things I’ve noticed up here (at the park), lots of times you’ll see a bear at the most unlikely time. There’s really no rhyme or reason to it.”
Your typical female black bear can weigh between 100 to 150 pounds; males range from 175 to 200 pounds - not much bigger than a big black Labrador retriever, something people have been known to mistake them for, Hilton said.
The black bears in our region seem to be thriving. Though a formal study has not been conducted, Hilton believes at any given time 10 to 15 bears could be living within the 3,500 acres of Bays Mountain Park.
“You could easily have two to three living in a neighborhood,” Hilton said. “It’s amazing how stealthy bears can be. They can be there and you not even know it.”
Any odorous substance is going to attract bears, and the best way to avoid bears coming to your property is to properly manage food items, garbage and odorous substances.
Hilton recommends storing garbage in secure cans inside a garage or outbuilding rather than outside, avoid putting odorous items in the garbage until the day of collection, and if you do have to put odorous items in the garbage first put them in a small plastic bag to cut down on the stench.
Bird feeders and pet food should be brought inside at night, outdoor grills should be stored inside a garage and if you maintain a compost pile, Hilton said to try and only put non-food items in it or sprinkle some lye on the pile to keep down the odors.
Try and locate gardens, orchards, pet kennels and bee hives a safe distance from your house. If you can’t do that, then an electric fence is a good deterrent against bears.
“We use an electric fence on the bee hives up here and it seems to work pretty well,” Hilton said. “With fruit trees, pick the fruit up off the ground and don’t let fruits and vegetables just lie on the ground. They’ll start rotting and give off odors.”
Black bears are very adaptable animals and learn quickly, and normally do not pose a threat to humans. If you leave them alone, they’ll probably leave you alone. Attacks with serious injuries are pretty rare with black bears, though they do happen from time to time, Hilton said.
The best way to scare off a bear is to make noise, yell or bang on something or throw a rock or stick at the animal, Hilton said. Do not throw food at the bear, and whatever you do, don’t play dead. Hilton said that works with grizzly bears, but not so much with black bears.
“If you give them plenty of space, manage food items and odor properly, that’ll take care of 98 percent of the problems you’re going to have with bears,” Hilton said.
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Information from: Kingsport Times-News, https://www.timesnews.net
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