Living among bears in North Idaho
Bears living in North Idaho eat a variety of foods. However, huckleberries are typically one of the most important sources of calories for bears preparing to spend five or more months in winter dens. When huckleberry production is low, bears seek alternatives that sometimes lead them into trouble.
The availability of huckleberries in our area is so important to bears that it affects reproductive success. Breeding takes place in the spring, however, the fertilized egg does not implant until the fall...and only implants when a sow bear has enough fat reserves to carry and later nurse cubs. In the absence of suitable energy reserves, the egg will not implant and the affected sow will not produce a cub that year.
Huckleberry abundance also affects bear hunting success and oddly enough impacts road kill numbers. In years where huckleberries are plentiful, bears do not travel as much as they do when the crop is slight. More travel exposes bears to more risk. They cross more roads and are hit in greater numbers by vehicles. The likelihood they will be detected by hunters increases when their travels increase, so bear harvest goes up.
Higher harvest and lower reproductive rates in times of food scarcity are not all that bad. Limited food reserves are spread out among fewer bears when some are taken from the population. However, another tendency in times of low food supplies can be really problematic. When bears travel more, contact with people, homes and campsites increases.
The summer drought of 2015 has not only led to record numbers of forest fires, it has also caused a very poor huckleberry crop. Whereas many bears would be up in the high country gorging themselves on huckleberries in the fall, many bears have dropped into the valley to search for alternate foods. According to Conservation Officer and Bear Education Officer Brian Johnson, "the best way to avoid problems at your home with bears is to make absolutely sure that they can get nothing to eat if they pass through your backyard."
"Bear Education Officer"? No, he doesn't educate bears. Officer Johnson spends most of his time educating people about how they can avoid having problems with bears. A reduction in human-bear conflicts aids both people and bears, as bears sometimes must be euthanized when they become habituated to people. And, while people like to see bears, having one in your garbage cans or your fruit tree isn't a good situation.
When a bear starts to associate people with food, there is little that can be done to re-train the bear to again avoid contact with people.
Officer Johnson has a list of guidelines for bear-proofing your home and/or your hunting camp. His suggestions:
* Store all garbage in a locked shed or garage. Reduce odors by using tightly sealed trash bags. Use bear resistant garbage cans and make frequent runs to the transfer station or rural dumpsters to get rid of garbage before it starts to smell excessively.
* Do not feed birds in rural or semi-rural areas from April 1 through Dec. 1 when birds have enough natural food anyway. Bears love birdseed. If you insist of bird feeding, hang feeders at least 10 feet above the ground and keep spilled seed picked up. Bring hummingbird feeders in at night or hang them where bears cannot access them.
* Feed pets only enough food for one feeding or feed them indoors. Store pet food and livestock food in bear resistant containers.
* Keep your barbecue clean and stored in a shed or garage when not in use.
* Pick fruit as soon as it ripens. Pick up fallen fruit, as rotting fruit is especially attractive to bears. Electric fencing can be very effective at preventing bears from climbing fruit trees. Bears are especially fond of pears.
* Composting grass and leaves is fine. But if you live in an area where bears are present, composting food waste is almost certain to attract bears.
Officer Johnson says that "if a bear comes to your home and gets a food reward, the bear will be back!" He warns that people should never approach a bear or feed a bear. "Give them plenty of space."
If you have secured all food items and still have bears visiting your home, contact the Idaho Department of Fish and Game. In most cases, removing all food sources first will solve your problem and you won't need to call.
Most North Idaho bears are black bears. However, there are established grizzly bear populations in the Selkirk and Cabinet ranges, and occasionally grizzlies are seen in the nearby Bitterroots, to include the Coeur d'Alene and St. Joe Divide mountains.
There currently is a radio-collared grizzly bear in the lower North Fork of the Coeur d'Alene River that has been seen by a number of people. On Sept. 9 it was about 8 miles north of Kellogg. A flight is scheduled for Sept. 14 to get a new location.
The grizzly is a 2-year-old male. It was trapped and collared for research purposes about 20 miles northwest of Whitefish, Mont., on Aug. 4 and subsequently released near Spar Lake, near the towns of Troy and Noxon, Mont., in the Cabinet Mountains. It weighed 165 pounds at capture. The bear does not have a history of conflicts with people.
Bear hunters need to make certain of their target before taking aim at a bear anywhere in the region.
Hunters who harvest an elk or deer and return to pack meat the next day should stay very alert and make noise when approaching the carcass. The same is true for hunters when approaching bear baits.
Anyone coming across a carcass in the woods that is partially buried should stay away from the carcass. Bears and lions put dirt onto carcasses to claim them and are likely nearby and ready to defend their food.
Phil Cooper is a wildlife conservation educator for the Panhandle region of the Idaho Department of Fish and Game.