Friday, June 22, 2007
Backyard bears
Conflicts increase as bear habitat and civilization become more intertwined.
Mark Taylor is outdoors editor at The Roanoke Times.
mark.taylor
@roanoke.com
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Mark Taylor
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The Wild Life blog
You are in bear country.
If you live in Eagle Rock, you are in bear country.
If you live in Abingdon, you are in bear country.
If you live in downtown Roanoke, you are in bear country.
And if you’ve been following the news, you might be a bit nervous.
Last week in Utah a black bear killed 11-year-old Samuel Ives, dragging the youngster from the tent in the dark of night in a scene straight out of a nightmare.
This was not a grizzly, a species prone to violence.
This was a member of a species known for its docility and fear of people.
But it’s also a species that is interacting with humans more than ever as our territory and their territory becomes increasingly intertwined.
Greg Funkhouser has seen this happening.
A Virginia game warden based in Roanoke, Funkhouser often takes calls from residents complaining about bears. In fact, handling bear calls has become such a big part of his job, Funkhouser is taking a proactive approach to educating the public.
This spring, he helped organize a public forum on bears in Glenvar, and he has begun distributing a pamphlet titled, “Living with Black Bears in the Roanoke Valley.”
While tragedies such as the Utah incident garner headlines, it’s important to know that violent encounters between humans and black bears are still exceedingly rare. But with more of encounters taking place, odds of something bad happening also increase.
The increase in interaction is due primarily to a couple of reasons.
More humans are living in or near traditional bear country.
Bears have quickly figured out those new homes and subdivisions are a good source of food with their gardens, bird feeders and garbage cans.
Some rural properties are becoming better bear magnets, too, as hunters step up food plot plantings and feeding programs — some legal, some not — to attract other wildlife, primarily deer and turkeys.
The bear population also continues to grow.
That may seem strange given that hunters are killing more than ever, but they’re simply not able to keep up with the population expansion — in part because some of these suburban bear enclaves offer limited or no hunting.
Game laws in Virginia and many other states are actually formulated to a degree to help the bear population grow.
For example, Virginia hunters are forbidden from killing female bears with cubs, which most people would agree is a reasonable law. Many hunters go a step further and try to kill only males exclusively.
If that sounds familiar, that’s because it’s pretty much the approach taken to deer management through much of the 20th century, as game managers and hunters fervently protected females to increase deer populations.
Now many areas are struggling with the problem of too many deer.
To its credit, the Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries is working to stay in front of the bear issue. The agency recently completed a formal bear management plan that establishes a framework for greatly expanded bear hunting opportunities.
Expanding hunting opportunities does not translate directly to increased hunting, however. Hunter numbers are falling, leaving fewer hunters to shoulder the responsibility of keeping the bear population in check, again while dealing with areas where hunting is not practical or legal.
Non-hunters can do their part, too.
As exciting as it is to see a wild bear in person, citizens should not encourage close encounters.
Rule one is to not feed the bears.
Bears that get used to handouts, intentional or not, lose their fear of humans and become problems. While they may not become violent, they can be destructive scroungers. If a bear shows up at your place, do what you can to get rid of whatever is attracting the animal.
Once a bear becomes a nuisance, its future is bleak. Trap and transfer programs are generally ineffective so most problem bears are euthanized.
But despite the rare black bear-related tragedy, there’s no reason to fear the animals.
We need to respect them, however.
And the first step of that respect is to teach them that their food comes from the forest.
“Living with Bears in The Roanoke Valley” contains tips and suggestions applicable to all of WesternVirginia. To request a copy call (434) 525-7522.
