You’re probably not surprised that a nicely hollowed out tree, dense thicket or handy cave might appeal to a bear in search of a winter den. But did you know the big pile of brush in your backyard, the crawl space or storm cellar you forgot to seal up for the winter or the shed full of gardening tools and supplies can be just as – or even more – appealing? Bears are curious, resourceful and very adaptable. So when their ...
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In the fall, bears are hard at work searching for plenty of food so they can fatten up for the winter ahead. The hunt for food starts in late summer as berries and fruits ripen and shifts into high gear when calorie-packed nuts and seeds (soft and hard mast) are available. By fall bears are foraging up to 20 hours a day in a race against the clock. This annual power-eating marathon is called hyperphagia. During hyperphagia, bears need to eat ...
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An important message from your chickens, bees and small livestock... Please Electric Fence Us In Your chickens, ducks, rabbits, pigs, goats, sheep and bees have asked BearWise to pass along a message: bears are always looking for food, and don’t know your chickens and bees and critters are off limits. An unprotected apiary, coop or pen is like a fast-food restaurant for bears. So much easy-to-get-to, calorie-filled food all in one convenient place. People are always trying to get more ...
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Lock It or Lose It Have you seen news stories or videos featuring bears “breaking in” to homes and cars looking for food? What many stories don’t mention is that much of the time the bear isn’t breaking in. It’s just following its nose to something that smells like food, cleverly opening an unlocked door or window and making itself at home. Black bears have relatively short, curved claws (often under 2 inches) that are well adapted for climbing trees ...
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A bear would need to forage all day to find as much food as it can harvest in an hour or two in a kitchen garden. No wonder bears are attracted to the nicely organized plots of nutritious, ready-to-eat produce that are sprouting up all over as more people decide it’s time to grow some of what they eat. A little advance planning and preparation now can help you make sure you enjoy the fruits and vegetables of your labors ...
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If the bears in your area aren’t up and about yet, they will be soon. Why wait until a bear is checking out your bird feeder, pet food or garbage? A few hours of prevention now can help keep bears out in the wild and away from homes and neighborhoods. Let's Talk Trash Litter Patrol Empty bottles, cans, and bags still smell like food. Picking up all that stuff that mysteriously appeared over the winter will remove attractants and give ...
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Summer is prime time for spotting bears swimming in lakes and ponds, splashing in swimming pools and hot tubs, emptying kiddie pools and stretching out in the shade. People can wear light-colored, breathable clothes, big hats and stay inside in the AC sipping cold drinks. Bears live in their fur coats year-round, so they are forced to find creative ways to beat the summer heat until cooler days arrive. Bears don’t have sweat glands and their insulating fur is designed to ...
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Early summer is normally a busy time for bear sightings, but this year some people are seeing more bears than usual. There are several reasons bears roam around in June, but only two reasons bear sightings in your area may be on the rise. Reason #1: There are more people in bear country. The pandemic accelerated one trend that was already well underway: people moving out of cities and urban centers in search of a better quality of life. On ...
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Bears are attracted to anything that smells; it doesn’t even need to smell good. Garbage, compost piles, dirty diapers, pizza boxes, empty beverage cans...to a hungry black bear, it all smells like something good to eat. Bears are curious and always exploring. If a bear follows its nose to a buffet of easy-to-get-at foods, liquids, pet foods or garbage, it learns that where there are people, there is food. Bears also have great memories, so when a bear gets a ...
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Chances are you may start noticing signs of bear activity sometime in March when some bears emerge from their dens. And many bears will be up and about and looking for food and water before the Easter Bunny arrives. So, it’s a great time to think about what worked and what could have worked better last year and make sure you’ve done everything you can to discourage hungry bears from paying you a springtime visit. Going for a Walk? There’s ...
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What should you do if you look out the window and there’s a black bear nosing around your bird feeder or trash, taking a dip in your swimming pool, or investigating something that looks or smells interesting? A. Call 911 B. Call the neighbors to come watch C. Offer food, the bear is probably hungry D. Make lots of noise and yell at the bear E. Encourage your dog to chase the bear If you picked D, good for you! ...
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Pet food is a super-concentrated source of protein, fat, nutrients and calories. That’s why pet food is super-attractive to bears. In fact, pet food is one of the top three things that attract bears to neighborhoods and homes. A bear’s daily calorie needs quadruple in late summer and early fall. That means a bear that normally needs 5,000 calories a day must now find and consume about 20,000 calories each and every day to gain enough weight to safely hibernate ...
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Watching birds is a great hobby the whole family can enjoy. Watching bears destroy your bird feeders isn’t nearly as much fun. You can’t blame the bears; the average seed feeder can hold a whopping 18,000 calories in a handy carry-out container. Hummingbird feeders are like energy drinks for bears. Bears are naturally shy and wary of people. But once they get a big food reward for overcoming their natural reluctance to hang around humans, they often go exploring for ...
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There are no stay home orders for bears. Right now, they’re waking up from their long winter’s nap and heading out into a whole new world. Millions of Americans are now denned up at home, preparing more meals and ordering more takeout. That means every household is creating more trash and garbage every week. Many waste haulers don’t have the resources to keep up with the high volume so trash might sit outside longer than usual. But if you’re stuck ...
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