The drought and warm weather persist in much of the west and bear/human encounters continue to rise as both black and grizzly bears are looking to store up fat for the long anticipated winter ahead.
Local News8 in Idaho Falls has several stories concerning bears and the problems facing local residents, hunters and forest users. A small bear was spotted at a nearby airport.
Monday morning, another bear wandered through a populated area. This time a bear cub visits the Driggs Airport and then wanders to a local school yard.
Doug Peterson of Idaho Fish and Game says there are few berries around and bears are hungry.
“We’ve had an average of three to four to five calls a day on different bears. There is not a lot of berries up in the hills and a pretty hot and dry summer brought a lot of bears down,”
In a separate article, Local News8 takes a look at how this drought will affect the overall population of the bears, both black and grizzly.
More bears in more places, and less food in more places…that is turning out to be a deadly combination for quite a few bears.
So is there enough food to fatten bears up for hibernation? Will these problems escalate with each passing year?
As bears continue to forage for food in tents, in garbage bags, on school grounds, and even at the airport, you start to wonder.
Will they ever find enough food for hibernation?
And in a third story, we learn that a food storage order has been put in place for portions of southeastern Idaho.
The Bridger-Teton is under a mandatory Food Storage Order for all of the Forest north of the Snake River on the Jackson Ranger District and north of Boulder Lake on the Pinedale Ranger District. The order applies to the Teton and Gros Ventre Wilderness areas and much of the Bridger Wilderness area. Food Storage is strongly recommended for the remainder of the Forest.
The Food Storage Order is in place to promote human safety, and provide for the protection of both the black and grizzly bear.
The Order requires that unattended food or attractants be stored in hard-sided vehicles, bear-resistant containers, or hung above ground out of the reach of bears.
For those who may have missed the Today Show on NBC (click this link to watch the video), they did a piece about the problems that Reno, Nevada residents are having with bears. The entire segment focused on only the fact that bears are not finding the normal supplies of natural food. They are hungry and are looking anywhere and everywhere for food.
People should be aware that there is no answer to this problem. The food is not there and will not be until at least next season depending once again on weather conditions. Being aware of that is important and residents need to pay attention and do all they can to reduce the chances of bears finding their way into your kitchen. It will not only perhaps save a human life but maybe a bear or two, now and in the future as bears once they learn to rummage for food with humans, it’s hard to break them of it.
Tom Remington
