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All Coexistence Articles
As summer winds down and bears rush to pack on the pounds before hibernation, at least a few ursines have exhibited unusually aggressive behavior.
Director of Bear Smart Durango Bryan Peterson said unprovoked, aggressive behavior is unusual for black bears, but it's not unheard of.
A recent pair of incidents were reported in which bears exhibited this type of behavior, both taking place in the heart of Durango.
Wolves and bears don't behave well in courtrooms.
But the two big predators are likely to spend the next 18 months there as their advocates and enemies try to untangle them from the federal Endangered Species Act.
Last week, Montana wildlife managers decided to appeal U.S. District Court Judge Donald Molloy's Aug. 5 decision placing the gray wolf back under federal protection. Meanwhile, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service officials in Missoula appealed another Molloy ruling that prevented state management of Yellowstone ecosystem grizzly bears.
The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission has drafted a bear management plan that attempts to grapple with all the issues raised by the resurgence of a species that can reach 600 pounds and has a taste for garbage.
The plan calls for setting up local resident groups to work out bear issues; reducing those killed on roads; establishing wilderness corridors to reconnect shrinking, genetically isolated bear populations along the Gulf coast with larger ones inland; and — most controversially — considering whether Florida should reopen bear hunting, banned in 1994.
Yellowstone's grizzlies are going to be particularly hungry this fall, and that means more dangerous meetings with humans in a year that is already the area's deadliest on record.
Scientists report that a favorite food of many bears, nuts from whitebark pine cones, is scarce. So as grizzlies look to put on some major pounds in preparation for the long winter ahead, scientists say, they will be looking for another source of protein — meat — and running into trouble along the way.
Three bears spotted in Peaks of Grassi
A spate of grizzly bear activity in a Canmore neighbourhood has wildlife officials warning residents to bear-proof their homes.
Grizzly bears have been spotted mere metres from houses, eating buffalo berries, dogwood and other food in yards adjacent to the Peaks of Grassi community, a wildlife corridor.
Some berry-laden bushes -- prime bear food -- are growing directly behind and in between homes in the neighbourhood.
'Taste aversion' could deter predators from eating cows, sheep: biologist
Saskatchewan has a serious problem with predators eating livestock, but what if ... they simply didn't feel like eating?
"Taste aversion" could be the answer to making wolves and coyotes leave cows and sheep alone, says John Polson, a freelance wildlife biologist and beekeeper.
“I heard a noise in the carport and I thought it was a dog. When I went to check it turned out to be a bear, about 12 feet away, going through the garbage. I was shocked.”
On July 22 Phillip van Niekirk experienced a bear “interaction” at his home in North Vancouver. In this case, the animal entered his carport.
In 2008, the North Shore Black Bear Society and the North Shore Recycling Program (NSRP) jointly developed guidelines for composting in bear country to provide consistent information to residents who wish to reduce the garbage they send to landfill while maintaining a bear-safe neighbourhood.
Since then, we have collaborated to deliver the composting-in-bear-country message to North Shore residents through popular community events, newspaper articles and ads, information brochures, how-to videos, public workshops and private gatherings.
ANCHORAGE, Alaska (KTVA-CBS 11 News) In light of more bear encounters in many Anchorage back yards, one state lawmaker says it is time to come up with answers.
State Rep. Charisse Millett, R-Anchorage, held her second in a series of bear aware events Saturday at the Hillside Trail Head.
Millett was joined by members of the Anchorage Police Department, the Alaska Center for the Environment, Alaska State Troopers and Alaska Waste to better educate Anchorage residents on how to deal with living in bear country, and avoiding deadly trail encounters.
ASPEN, Colo. (AP) — Bear-friendly doorknobs could be out in the Aspen area.
The county commissioners have given preliminary approval to a ban on lever-style door handles on new or remodeled homes. Bears looking for food can hit the levers and open the door but have a much harder time with round doorknobs.
Residents of a Canadian city debated whether police correctly handled a call reporting that a bear was shot and killed in April. Police tried to contact the Ministry of Natural Resources, but no staff in the area were trained to handle bears, which haven’t been seen here in over 40 years. After all, this was London, Ont. — not an alpine town in British Columbia.
Jul 15, 2010 — Media Coverage: Stay Alert
Whistler Mountain resident mother black bear Brownie with one of two six-month-old cubs grazing up through a clover patch. Six females have produced 11 cubs in the ski area with a 100 per cent survival rate so far.
Too many black bears are being killed in North Shore neighbourhoods because they see our garbage as an ursine smorgasbord.
Coquitlam Mayor Richard Stewart is fed up and is calling for fines of up to $10,000 for brazen citizens who flout bear-aware bylaws, some of which currently impose fines as low as $500.
Two Nunavut communities will be test sites for polar bear-proof steel food caches.
Sarah Medill, the Department of Environment’s specialist on polar bear deterrents, said the department has purchased several steel garbage bins for use as containers for food caches on the land.
Whistler is going for Bear Smart Community status! This has been a long time in the making. Since 2005, when we started researching human-bear conflict in Whistler, we’ve seen the municipality take big strides forward to do their part in reducing conflicts between bears and humans.
While Hope retreats to a roadless area and we wait for her to become accessible again, we're thinking about the holiday traffic.
Being hit by a vehicle on Highway 169 is one of the biggest mortality factors in Shadow's clan. The highway bisects the study area, and summer traffic is heavy-especially on holiday weekends. Two days ago, the BBC filmed Juliet crossing the highway near Soudan, MN, with her 3 cubs; Sharon, Shirley, and Boy Named Sue. Realizing the family was about to cross, Gordon Buchanan set up his camera beside the highway while other crew members set up farther away to capture the big picture. Drivers saw Gordon and wondered what he was filming. They slowed down and looked-then stopped and watched the family safely cross.
Conservation officers in Whitehorse are warning people of a grizzly bear roaming around the Porter Creek and Takhini neighbourhoods, feasting in several residents' compost and garbage carts.
Officers have set up bear traps in the hopes of catching the wandering male bear, which knocked over waste carts at several homes on Monday morning. The bear was still on the loose as of Monday afternoon.
By next summer, Whistler should be officially labeled "Bear Smart."
Heather Beresford, the municipality's environmental stewardship manager, said thanks to council's approval of the Human-Bear Conflict Management Plan last week, Whistler has completed all the steps for the Bear Smart application.
Dear Humans,
You’ve probably seen me around. I’m the freshly abandoned bear cub that’s been wandering around Nesters, through Cut Yer Bars, down to Myrtle Philip Elementary School and the Emerald Forest. I’ve been munching on all the green plants and dandelions. Wherever the greens are, that’s where you’ll find me.
A Sunshine Coast bear advocate believes there are more bears around this year than usual, and says municipalities should be doing more to prevent conflicts between these amazing animals and humans - including handing out bear-proof garbage bins.
After viewing a very large, very well-fed black bear right outside my own North Shore bedroom Monday, I tend to agree.
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