Springtime in bear country

Spring is here. The flowers are blooming, birds are chirping and bears are waking up from hibernation.

“As the population in the Panhandle grows, we're overlapping more and more with bear wildlife habitat. A lot of people value having a hobby farm, which is great, but living in grizzly bear country there are specific steps that we advise people to take,” said T.J. Ross, regional communications manager for the Idaho Department of Fish and Game in the Panhandle Region.

In 2022, the Idaho Department of Fish and Game reported an increased amount of human and grizzly encounters in the region, mainly in Boundary County. None of the incidents resulted in human injury. Many occurred on private property and resulted in the loss of livestock.

“We didn’t see any outdoor recreationist have a negative encounter with a grizzly bear; it was all centered around homeowners down in the valleys who reported bears coming out of the mountains and getting into livestock,” Ross said.

Ross said that because of this, the department is putting great emphasis on helping educate landowners about how to protect their property. The first line of defense should be putting up an electric fence, as this is the most effective step for keeping bears off your property and out of gardens.

Encountering a bear out there

For humans, bear attacks are rare. According to the National Park Service, there’s a 1 in 1.2 million chance of being attacked — that’s 0.02%. While bears are known to be aggressive, wild animals, they’re not known for proactively hunting humans. The primary cause of bear attacks in North America is that the bears are protecting their food or cubs.

The U.S. Forest Service reports about 35 to 40 grizzly bears reside in the Selkirk Mountains with another 30 to 40 occupying the Cabinet-Yaak ecosystem of Idaho and Montana. It’s well known that bears come out of hibernation in the spring but with recent wild weather patterns, it’s hard to put a finger on when each season starts and ends. First sightings of brown and black bears vary from year to year and depend on the snowpack and winter conditions, according to Ross.

“Our officers are out and about every spring and typically start seeing tracks in the snow or start getting reports of bear sightings in late March and early April,” Ross said. “[Bears] are out and about now. We’ve gotten those reports already.”

The Panhandle Region is home to both black and brown bears, which hibernate similarly. They eat for three seasons and venture off to find a cozy spot where they can lay low and preserve energy for the entire winter.

“A lot of people think, because of what they see in the movies, that bears like going into caves which is usually not the case,” Ross said. “They like a root wad from an upended tree that they can hunker down under or a little notch in the mountainside. [They like] the idea of a cubby hole. They like to feel tucked in somewhere.”

Female bears give birth while in hibernation, which is why it can be problematic when running into a mama and her cubs. They’ve been nursing all winter long and when springtime rolls around, the cubs come out wanting to explore while the mothers are eager to teach them how to survive in the wild.

“When running into a female bear with its cubs, the threat becomes much higher for both human and bear because of the main priority to protect their young at all costs,” Ross said. “They’re willing to stand their ground to do that and neutralize the threat if they have to.”

Ross said that neutralizing the threat, potentially a human, isn’t always the main goal for the animal. How a bear responds to an encounter depends on a handful of factors.

The most threatening factor for a bear is a surprise. Any time a bear is surprised, it will either run away or stand its ground.

“If you’re walking through an area and see bear signs, yell, be loud, make it known that you’re a human so that if you do come up on a bear it knows that you’re there and it’s not surprised by the fact that you’re there,” Ross said.

Before heading out into bear country, recreationists are advised to check the expiration date on their bear spray.

People carrying bear spray should also know how to use it: Start with a few short bursts to avoid wasting it all at once, and keep in mind that the spray only travels up to 25 feet.

“What you’re trying to do is create a cloud of bear spray that the bear is going to run through,” Ross said. “You’re not trying to hit it in the face with it. That’s a really fast-moving, small target when you’re in the moment.”

Ross said bear spray isn't a preventative deterrent.

“It’s not like mosquito repellent,” he said. “It’s meant for the moment when a bear is charging you.”

Is that a black bear or a grizzly?

Not all black bears are black and not all grizzlies are brown. While grizzlies are typically brown with a grayish appearance at the end of their fur, Ross said Idaho Fish and Game has many videos showing jet-black grizzlies.

The same goes for black bears. While many of them are descriptors of their name, black bears also exist in many colors, including brown.

“They can be a light brown, yellowish color, they can be a solid brown, a cinnamon color. There are many different color phases of black bears, and we have them all here in the Panhandle,” Ross said. “The best way to identify the difference between a brown bear and a black bear is to take note of the neck and profile of the face.”

Grizzlies have a hump over the top of their shoulders and a dish-shaped profile, whereas black bears have a straight side profile and no hump. When looking at a grizzly, a concave, cable dish-like feature can be seen from the top of its forehead down to its nose.

“Another clear difference is claw length,” Ross said. “But if you’re identifying a bear based on its claw length you’re probably too close already. Grizzly bears have longer claws."

In general, grizzly bears are more dangerous. They’re stronger, more powerful and have more of a territorial defense response than black bears.

“If a grizzly feels threatened, they know how big and strong they are so they’re much more inclined to neutralize the threat rather than run from it,” Ross said. “A black bear will typically run from a threat to get away from it. They don’t have that same desire to neutralize it.”

When coming out of hibernation, bears have one thing on their mind: Food.

“Their goal all spring, summer and fall is to pack on enough weight to get through the next hibernation season," Ross said.

For more bear safety information, visit idfg.idaho.gov.

Landowners who are looking for assistance or more educational materials for “living in bear country” can contact the Panhandle Regional Idaho Fish and Game Office at 208-769-1414.