Rick's Pocono Mountain Blog

WHAT TO DO IF YOU

If you live or have a summer home in bear country, you may have to make adjustments in your lifestyle

if you plan to coexist peacefully with these large animals. Make sure you don't encourage resident bears to

become .nuisance bears. by carelessly handling garbage or intentionally feeding bears. Your carelessness

could lead to a bear's removal from the area or its death. Black bears will consume almost anything. They

will eat human food, garbage, bird feeder offerings, pet foods and livestock feed. They also raid cornfields

and destroy beehives. Once bears find easily-accessible food sources, whether on a farm or in a housing

development, they overcome their wariness of people and visit regularly. Often the only way to get rid of

these unwanted, late-night visitors is to remove the food source for about a month. Even then, there are

no guarantees. You can reduce bear visits to your property by keeping garbage out of a bear's reach and

as odor-free as possible. Encourage your neighbors to do the same. Store trash inside a building, garage

or shed. Don't put out your trash until the morning of collection day. Be sure garbage cans are cleaned

regularly using hot water and chlorine bleach. If you have pets, bring their food pans inside at

night. Speaking of dogs, bears generally steer clear of chained or penned dogs. Unleashed dogs that

approach bears, however, may be perceived as a threat and could be seriously injured, even killed. If you

have a dog in bear country, don't let it roam far from the house, leash it whenever you hike in the woods,

and keep it in the house or in a kennel at night. Other around-the-home tips include cleaning grease from

your barbecue grill after every use, and properly disposing of grill grease. Don't dump the grease out back.

If you feed birds during summer, you may want to bring all bird feeders, including hummingbird feeders,

in at night. Bears also are attracted to fruit, melon rinds or other tasty items in mulch or compost piles.

Beehives attract bears, especially right after bruins come out of hibernation in the spring and during

the peak honey production period in late summer and fall. You can protect your bees, honey and

equipment if you surround hives with bear-deterrent fences. Contact the Pennsylvania Game Commission

for more information about fencing.

If a bear is visiting your property, there are two possible courses of action. The first could be to make loud

noises or shout at the bear, kind of like you'd react to your neighbor's dog getting into your trash, but

keep your distance. The second option, would be to leave the bear alone, and clean up the bear's mess

after it leaves. Follow up by making sure you eliminate bear feeding opportunities so the next time one

comes around it will keep moving.

     Bears are usually dormant in winter, remaining in their dens, which are usually rock caverns, excavated

holes beneath shrubs, trees or dead falls, in hollow trees or brushy thickets. A hibernating bear's heart

rate and breathing slow and its body temperature drops slightly. During this time, they do not eat or drink,

or pass body wastes. A hibernating bear relies on stored fat to make it through winter. On warm winter

days, however, bears may emerge to look for food so DO NOT think that they are completely hibernating

in Winter!

Information  on this blog was brought to you by The Pennsylvania Game Commission!