More about UNDERSTANDING BEARS

     Education about bear behavior and their biological needs can help people develop an appreciation for these animals and encourage the will to coexist.

     The potential for harm that bears may inflict on people is overstated . Bears have the power to inflict great damage but for some reason they exhibit tremendous restraint when dealing with people. Normal bears that allow themselves to be seen by people don’t tend to be a threat to human safety. This is documented. In addition, so called nuisance bears have not attacked anybody that I can find a record of. Some times a bears nervous behavior is misinterpreted for actions of aggression and the bear is unfairly dispatched.

     Education about bear behavior can make a huge difference when it comes to the general public tolerating the presence of bears in or near a community. When people learn about the bear as it really is, their fear or panic at the sight of one fades away to respect and appreciation. I notice a big difference when comparing attitude in and around the town of Huntsville, Ontario now versus eight years ago.

     Education can reduce the need to live trap and relocate but the need does arise. I make relocation a final resort to solving a people/bear conflict. In most relocations the bear is moved because human activity is to hard to manage. Examples are parks, schools and areas where the number of people reduce the opportunity to encourage the bear to move on by removing the attractant (peoples food).

     I believe relocating a bear with a full stomach greatly reduces the chance of that bear homing immediately. Relocate to an area featuring good bear habitat and release a bear that is comfortable because it is not thirsty or hungry will reduce the chance of return because the animal is content enough to explore the new area instead of thinking only of a bellyache and quickly returning to an area where it knows it can find something to eat. Some bears will return. My experience has been about one in ten relocated bears return to the area of conflict as identified by an ear tag.

     I only move females with cubs when all options are exhausted.

Mike McIntosh

                 
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