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Trouble’s a bruin in Reedsport
By Jolene Guzman, Staff Writer
Friday, November 21, 2008 | 1 comment(s)
The bears are back in town in Reedsport. Hungry bears.
People in the Crestview Drive area have called in several reports of rummaging black bears in the past few days. Local Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife biologists say they aren’t surprised.
The bears are taking advantage of the last good days of the year to go on a feeding frenzy, said Bill Kinyoun, a district wildlife biologist for ODFW. Bear complaints and sightings from all over the region, not just Reedsport, have gone up in the past week after the recent stretch of mild, sunny weather.
“They are doing everything they can to get every single ounce of fat they can before hibernation,” Kinyoun said. “They will continue to be that way until we get some really cold weather.”
They aren’t picky, either. Bears will sniff around for cat or dog food left outside, garbage, fallen fruit, bird feeders and debris left on the grill from the last summer barbecue.
Reedsport dispatcher Jerry Wilson confirmed that police are aware of the four-legged food seekers.
“We have a few bears around here,” Wilson said.
Police don’t know if Crestview Drive has attracted a solo marauder or a furry posse. In any case, a trap has been set out.
Bears probably will retreat to their winter dens after the next few weeks. Until then, people are urged to bear-proof their houses and yards to dissuade any uninvited dinner guests.
“In general, the best thing for people to do is to step back and think like a bear — look at their property and put themselves in the paws of a bear and ask: ‘What would I like if I were a bear?’” Kinyoun said.
Bears are just searching for a meal, but there is a down side in allowing them to get too accustomed to finding food where people live. Humans and bears in close proximity eventually leads to trouble — sometimes for the people but much more often for the bears. If nuisance or aggressive bears are caught, they will be killed.
“We don’t turn those bears loose,” Kinyoun said. “Once they have begun to associate humans with an easy food source, there is no breaking them of that.”
People in the Crestview Drive area have called in several reports of rummaging black bears in the past few days. Local Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife biologists say they aren’t surprised.
The bears are taking advantage of the last good days of the year to go on a feeding frenzy, said Bill Kinyoun, a district wildlife biologist for ODFW. Bear complaints and sightings from all over the region, not just Reedsport, have gone up in the past week after the recent stretch of mild, sunny weather.
“They are doing everything they can to get every single ounce of fat they can before hibernation,” Kinyoun said. “They will continue to be that way until we get some really cold weather.”
They aren’t picky, either. Bears will sniff around for cat or dog food left outside, garbage, fallen fruit, bird feeders and debris left on the grill from the last summer barbecue.
Reedsport dispatcher Jerry Wilson confirmed that police are aware of the four-legged food seekers.
“We have a few bears around here,” Wilson said.
Police don’t know if Crestview Drive has attracted a solo marauder or a furry posse. In any case, a trap has been set out.
Bears probably will retreat to their winter dens after the next few weeks. Until then, people are urged to bear-proof their houses and yards to dissuade any uninvited dinner guests.
“In general, the best thing for people to do is to step back and think like a bear — look at their property and put themselves in the paws of a bear and ask: ‘What would I like if I were a bear?’” Kinyoun said.
Bears are just searching for a meal, but there is a down side in allowing them to get too accustomed to finding food where people live. Humans and bears in close proximity eventually leads to trouble — sometimes for the people but much more often for the bears. If nuisance or aggressive bears are caught, they will be killed.
“We don’t turn those bears loose,” Kinyoun said. “Once they have begun to associate humans with an easy food source, there is no breaking them of that.”
Make your yard un-bearable
Some tips to keep your yard from becoming a bear buffet:
n Even if it means waking up early on pickup day, lock up your garbage in the garage until just before pickup. Also, clean the container with bleach and water.
n As an additional safety measure, spray garbage bags and cans with household ammonia. (But never mix bleach and ammonia; the mixture creates deadly chlorine gas.)
n Birds soon will begin depending on backyard feeders, but bears love birdseed. People living in bear territory should wait a few weeks, unless they want something a little larger than their feathered friends in their trees
.
n Some people don’t mind bears cleaning up fruit still on the ground. If you’re not one of them, clean it up and dispose of the fruit before bears catch a whiff.
n Bears have an incredible sense of smell, so eliminate any outdoor food sources or odors. Even gunky barbecue grills can attract bears, so keep them clean. They also will go for pet food stored outside.
n To report a bear, or to get more information about keeping bears away, call the Oregon’s Fish and Wildlife Department in Charleston at 888-5515.
n For interested groups, the Charleston field office offers a one-hour presentation called “Living with Bears.” Call 888-5515.
n If a bear’s search for food becomes a threat to safety, call 911.
” Staff Writer Jolene Guzman
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