Bear aware
National educational program BearWise aims to ease human-bear conflicts
Photo courtesy of Pennsylvania Game Commission
Outdoor excitement can arise as a surprise.
Last week, I enjoyed an experience I’d wanted to undertake for a long time. I took a course at Touchstone Center for Crafts in the mountains near Farmington. The course was in botanical illustration, a blend of art and science in which artist-botanists produce drawings and paintings of native plants that are scientifically precise and beautiful.
I won’t discuss here how my drawings turned out, but I met some talented, helpful, and encouraging artists. Even the most accomplished participants were eager to share tips and techniques to improve a beginner’s first attempts.
Attendees came from all over the country. As a local, I felt a swell of pride that creative people from so far away had assembled in Farmington to pursue their craft in a stimulating natural setting.
That setting proved especially stimulating for one artist, who took an evening walk around the Touchstone campus and beyond to Wharton Furnace Road, temporarily closed to traffic for a bridge replacement over Chaney Run. She was one of the residential artists staying on site at Touchstone. Living so near, I commuted from home each morning and evening and so missed out on the excitement.
As class opened the following morning, the visiting walker entertained the group with an animated story about rounding a bend in Wharton Furnace Road and meeting two black bears, one of which stood on its hind legs and stared back before bolting into the woods with its companion.
Few in the group had any experience with bears. Their reactions ranged from surprise to fear, awe, and a reluctance to walk the trails for the rest of the course. A couple of us tried to allay their fears with assertions that, just like the encountered bears which bolted away, black bears are seldom aggressive toward people. Unprovoked attacks are nearly unheard of.
Our assurance seemed to help. Everyone calmed down and there was a lot of joking about bears for the rest of the week. Someone even trotted out the old saying that, in a bear encounter, you don’t need to outrun the bear, you need only to outrun at least one companion.
But humor aside, black bears are powerful animals physically capable of inflicting serious injury, rare as that is, and so warrant respect and caution.
The Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies recently introduced BearWise, a national educational program to help outdoor enthusiasts, rural and suburban homeowners, businesses, and communities coexist safely (for people and bears) with bears. As Pennsylvania’s wildlife agency, the Pennsylvania Game Commission is a participating partner in BearWise.
BearWise tips for safe hiking include hiking with other people, keeping small children close by and within sight, and don’t allow dogs to run loose on trails. An unleased dog can surprise a bear and cause it to become aggressive.
“Tune into nature” is a BearWise tip that people these days could find difficult to embrace. BearWise advocates stashing your earbuds and phone while outdoors. These devices distract your attention from natural surroundings and might prevent you from hearing sounds that could be a warning.
When camping, keep your food supplies locked in a vehicle or hanging in a tree in a bear bag. Leaving food scraps behind in campgrounds or along trails can condition bears to expect food there, raising the risk for all who come to enjoy the trails after you.
BearWise also advises carrying bear spray and knowing how to use it. Once I might have dismissed this warning as “overdoing” things here in black bear country. But I’ve had two personal experiences with black bears in the local mountains that prove bear spray, even here, is a sensible precaution. Both encounters turned out well, but there’s nothing “sissy” about being prepared for the unexpected.
It’s illegal to intentionally feed bears in Pennsylvania. Concentrating bears and conditioning them to expect food is tempting trouble.
Homeowners should try to put trash out for collection at the latest possible time and consider erecting bear-proof enclosures for trash cans. Clean up all traces of bird feed after winter feeding and weigh the risk of attracting a bear if you feed birds during summer.
Once confined only to our mountain region, bears are inhabiting the lowlands and Greene County in increasing numbers. Anyone living in this region could potentially experience conflicts with bears.
To read more about bear natural history, and for sound advice on avoiding bear conflicts, visit the BearWise website at www.bearwise.org. Or check out many fascinating links to bear biology and bear management on the Game Commission’s site.
Bears are a marvelous part of the natural world, and we’re fortunate to have them nearby in our forests, parks, and game lands. Respecting their size, strength, and speed can keep humans and bears out of trouble.