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All Attractants Articles
Tuesday, March 9 2010 BRATTLEBORO - State Biologist Forrest Hammond received his first report of bear tracks in the snow last week, and with those reports expected to increase daily, Hammond is reminding people that it is time to take the bird feeders in.
A black bear was killed in Dummerston last year after it was found roaming around a populated area and Hammond wants to keep the same thing from happening this year. "It's getting warm outside and it's time to take the bird feeders down," Hammond said Friday. "The males are wandering around and they are hungry."
A large amount of grain was spilled Friday by a CPR train around 500 metres east of the Banff train station, worrying conservationists about the safety of wildlife.
"The pile has already attracted wildlife to the site," said WildCanada Conservation Alliance's Jim Pissot.
Considering the grizzly bear status report that was released by the Alberta government on March 3, people should do everything they can to keep grizzly bears alive, Pissot said. The report estimates that only 359 mature breeding grizzly bears are found on provincial lands and within Waterton Lakes national park and portions of Banff and Jasper National Park.
New Jersey’s black bear population has soared to nearly 3,500, a level that can no longer be controlled solely by non-lethal methods, a wildlife biologist said today as the state Fish and Game Council adopted a management policy recommending a six-day hunt in December.
The biologist, Patrick Carr, said the main reason for the growing population is the abundance of food state residents willingly and unwillingly provide. The result, he said, is that the bruins are living longer and giving birth to more cubs than bears in other parts of the country.
LAKE COUNTY, Fla. -- You say bears keep taking your garbage and redistributing it around your yard? Well, do something about it.
At this year's Florida Black Bear Festival, held on March 27, the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) have a challenge for everyone.
Figure out a way to keep them out of your garbage. If you can do that, you can win one of three $100 gift card to Lowe's.
A state wildlife agency is reminding Middlesex and Worcester County residents living near black bear habitat to remove bird feeders and other potential food sources before the hungry mammals emerge in coming weeks from hibernation.
FORT WALTON BEACH, Fla. - When Florida's black bears come in contact with humans it often results in a death sentence for the bear involved, but it doesn't have to be that way. An event to let people know about ways to live responsibly in bear country will feature some simple steps residents can take to coexist with the Florida Black Bear.
Dave Telesco, a bear expert with the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, says securing trash would be a huge step in the right direction.
The Mullen family spotted a black bear in their backyard looking for a snack in their garbage. The bear scattered the trash all over the yard before scurrying back into the woods.
MyFox New York reported Joe McCabe spotted the bear in his backyard and called his daughter to come take a look - until he saw it feasting on Blackie, the family pet rabbit. The rabbit had been roaming free in the screened porch and didn't stand a chance against the predator. As the bear climbed a tree, McCabe called police who shot the animal five times before it fell to the ground, dead.
WHISTLER, British Columbia - The late-night scratching at the door of my condo would not have been so alarming had I not known that this resort apparently was as appealing to bears as European vacationers. And, if what I'd read about the black bears was to be believed, this was no ordinary breed. These critters reportedly were capable of everything short of deciphering the NBA's salary cap. "Many of Whistler's bears have learned to do things like open car doors or hold spring-closed gates open," read one of the condo's brochures
ALTOONA -- Lake County authorities said a black bear is responsible for breaking into and trashing a car. Investigators said the up to 400-pound bear broke a window to get into the car Monday, then slashed up the back seats to get to two bags of garbage left in the trunk. Deputies said the smell of the garbage was too much for the big bear to resist. The car sustained thousands of dollars in damage. Investigators said they knew a bear was behind the break-in because of the marks it left behind.
First, I wish to thank the City Council for amending the ordinance on living with bears ("Missoula City Council: Tougher trash rules passed for bear zones," Missoulian, Feb. 9). We have, over time, invited bears into our fair city - now we have to learn how to live with them. Bear access to garbage in urban areas is now a major wildlife management challenge continentwide. Like it or not, North Americans today generate monstrous amounts of garbage, mixed with mega-tons of plastic, paper, cans, bottles. The messes the bears make extracting foods are mainly what make people angry today. Unsanitary, ugly, dangerous, habituation, surprise conflict, unprovoked attack, all come to mind. These ordinance changes will alleviate all of those garbage problems.
A state wildlife expert in DeKalb County said Friday the number of resident black bears has increased significantly since just a few years ago. Tracy Nelson, a wildlife biologist with the Alabama Department of Wildlife and Freshwater Fisheries, said he estimates as many as 10 black bears now make their home in DeKalb County, mostly on Lookout Mountain. He said that's up from no resident black bears just eight years ago.
As the number of black bears in the US grows, largely due to protection measures taken over the past century, the chances of these animals interacting with humans increase as well. Wildlife authorities managing national parks, where this threat is most severe, turned to science to help them devise the best possible methods of keeping bears away from thrash cans, and therefore reducing the risks of violent encounters with humans. Details of the work appear in the January issue of the respected Journal of Wildlife Management, Wired reports.
I can no longer contain myself. With the latest notice from the Muni in last week's paper (Greetings Olympic Guests) I wonder if we will ever get a handle on the disconnect between disposing of our garbage and our desire to get everyone using public transit? The notice from the Muni lets visitors know that all household garbage must be disposed of at the Nesters site. But how do you get it there? It is not permitted on WAVE transit and most of these visitors have no vehicles.
When one of my sons asked a member of our current council how he could get rid of his garbage without having transport he was advised to hide it in a knapsack and take it on board the bus.
With black bears and grizzly bears roaming around northwestern Montana’s backcountry, interaction with humans will occur from time to time. In an effort to help protect the bears from getting themselves into trouble while increasing safety for campers, Kootenai National Forest this summer plans to install up to 100 bear-proof food storage boxes.Mary Laws, recreation program manager, said such types of food-storage boxes have become common in places like Glacier National Park and Canada.
As with most small mountain towns in BC, Rossland sits squarely in and is surrounded by prime real estate when it comes to our big black friends in the forest. While certainly not desired, it’s not entirely uncommon to see the occasional black bear strolling through town. Rossland has been perhaps lucky over the past number of years to have not had any major bear/human interactions to have resulted in injuries. One probable cause contributing to that and to reducing bear/human interactions in general has been the hard work of the Bear Aware society. Facing an annual funding crunch and fighting for their society’s survival has worn down the folks involved, and the program is in real danger of disappearing from our area.
CHASE: Teaching them to avoid people works best if conditioning is done right after first contact with human food.
Black bear encounters happen every summer in Alaska, and a new study suggests rubber bullets are the best way to send the bruins packing.
An article in this month's issue of The Journal of Wildlife Management based on a four-year study in California's Sequoia National Park says shooting black bears with rubber slugs from a 12-gauge shotgun is most effective -- better than pepper spray, chasing them off or hitting them with rocks. Researchers detailed 1,050 instances of so-called aversive conditioning on more than 150 bears, some of which had become accustomed to human food
The Bear Aware Program Delivery Specialist, Betty Offin, and Joanne Siderius, the program’s provincial supervisor, gave a presentation to city council on Dec. 18, detailing the program’s successes in 2009.
The provincial program aims to reduce human-bear conflicts.
In 2009, of the 10,303 black bear reports in B.C., 88 were made in the Castlegar area.
Offin said the numbers have been in sharp decline.
The lazy habits of residents who leave their garbage outside cost at least one bruin its life last month. A mother bear who had two cubs was shot by conservation officers after it began hanging around 121A Avenue and 232nd Street.
METRO VANCOUVER - The early December cold snap convinced most of B.C.'s black bears to hunker down for a winter nap, but a few stragglers are still foraging for garbage on the North Shore, Coquitlam and Maple Ridge.
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