'Problem' bears are not born, they are the product of human carelessness and indifference. Not all bears develop into 'problem' bears. Bears sometimes become a problem when they are conditioned to non-natural food sources (ie. human garbage). Attraction to human food brings bears into more frequent contact with people, resulting in a higher probability of negative human-bear conflicts. So-called 'problem' bears may become bold in their attempts to get food from people and cause extensive property damage or in rare circumstances, injury or death to humans. Human habituated bears are those that get used to people and tolerate them at closer distance. When habituation is combined with food conditioning, a potential conflict situation can develop.

Bears that come into frequent contact with people are destroyed, not for what they have done, but for what people think they might do. Bears that are perceived as a threat to human safety and property are often destroyed. Very few bears are destroyed because of an actual and immediate threat to human safety.

The prevention, creation and termination of 'problem' bear behaviour relies on human understanding, cooperation and acceptance of bears. As humans expand their settlements and encroach upon sensitive wildlife habitats, it becomes critical to balance the needs of both wildlife and humans.

Since 'problem' bear behaviour is usually associated with the availability of non-natural attractants (ie. human garbage), a logical solution would be to limit the bear's reliance on garbage as a food source by providing bear-resistant waste facilities and eliminating backyard attractants. Such a proactive approach would also include increased public awareness and understanding through education, signage and enforcement programs. Limiting the source of the problem will be more effective in the long term than reactive methods like destruction and relocation (which is generally considered to be ineffective and costly).

Because we can not eliminate all potential causes of human-bear conflict or interaction, we also need a non-lethal way to deal with these situations. Non-lethal bear management is an effective way to deal with bears when they become a so-called ‘problem’. Always ask wildlife managers to use non-lethal methods first.

Food Conditioning

Conditioning is a simple learning technique we use to train our pets by giving them positive feedback or a food reward if we want them to repeat a behaviour. Bears, too, need to be trained, usually through a crucial experience that initiates the chain of behavioral change. First, bears need an opportunity to learn where to get nutrient rich food from people. Then, its just a matter of time before the bear repeats the behaviour that produces the (food) reward.

For example, if a bear is attracted to the smell of garbage in a can it may push the can over, exposing the contents for consumption. The animal's action of pushing over the can was instrumental in obtaining a reward (food). Bears have the ability to learn from a single experience and this process may be all that is necessary for the animal to become conditioned to push over garbage cans to obtain food. As a result of learning, whenever the bear encounters garbage cans in the future, with or without any food odours, it will likely investigate them. In addition, the association between the smell and the reward has been made. In this situation the bear would likely be attracted to similar smells (eg. garbage on a porch). Regardless of the type of attractants, once bears have been successful in obtaining human foods, without any negative experience, they begin to develop new behaviour patterns and may continue to seek food at human use sites.

Cubs learn the fundamental skills of survival from their mother. If the mother spends most of her time foraging for food at a landfill or from another human garbage source, this is the behaviour the cubs will learn. Even adult bears possess the ability to learn through observation of other bears. Bears are highly intelligent creatures and effective learners. Throughout their life bears remain curious and continue to learn through trial and error.

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