Bear problem can anyone help?

[binny]

My brother lives up in the mountains and this year they have a very " friendly" bear. This bear is apparently not scared of humans. he keeps coming into their area ( there a few houses together) and eating the apples. Well all was fine when s/he was just coming at night but now the thing has gotten really brave and comes at all hours. My nephews cant even go outside to play anymore because of this bear.
My brother apparently came across the bear while he was mowing the lawn the other day and came around a corner and the bear was about 20 feet from him the bear just looked at him, kept eating and eventually walked away.
Today the neighbour was outside when the bear came and the bear started walking right towards him!
Now anyone who knows bears knows this isnt normal behaviour! Most bears will run away from humans.

So as you can see this is becoming quite the issue, no one wants to have the bear destroyed, after all its just doing what it does best, but they also cant live in constant fear of a bear with no fear of humans either. Thats the scary part. These houses have been there forever and no one remembers a bear coming around in broad daylight!

Does anyone know of ways to scare this bear off humanely?

 

[DisMN]

It's very unnerving to know a bear is out there when there are humans/CHILDREN playing in the yard. We've had them here and I have NO clue how one stops them from coming into a yard or neighborhood.

If it's coming to eat maybe make sure all trash is taken to the dump and no food is in the area at all.

How do they handle bears at Yellowstone? Maybe someone will have that information for you.

 

[binny]

good thinking...

He is only there to eat the apples off the trees ( theyre in Apple country lol there are LOTS of trees) so Im hoping when theyre gone s/he will be be gone too and of course there's hibernation too.



Its just scary, they used to go out in the woods there and of course wear bear cans when they go, but now knowing that that wont scare her/him away ... they wont be able to do that either.

They know that seeing bears ( and cougars too and other wildlife) is part of living there... they arent naive at all ( just so no one thinks the humans are being all high and mighty here) but bears are USUALLY not this "tame" for lack of a better word.

Anyway.. Im rambling sorry.

 

[Tiziminchac]

They should notify the authorities. I would think that they would move the bear to a more remote area before anything bad happens. That's what they do with the gators down here in Florida.

 

[GBsMom]

Hi,

I work at Arctic Survival and when the base called us about a bear that kept wondering into the flight line, work areas, and housing. We did not want to shut it (female)- and we kept using bear spray to get rid of it.

So, we took bear spray wrapped in bologna and hug it from a tree close to the house. The bear took the bait and she crunched down on that can, screamed and ran the other direction towards the wood. It has been gone for 4 mths and nobody got hurt but the bear won't soon forget

 

[GeorgeG]

We've had some bear activity right here within view of the NYC skyline and the authorities say to just leave them alone and they'll go away, which they do.

It's very unnerving when you have small children because bears can be unpredictable. I've never heard of the bear spay can that GBsMom used, but it seems to have worked very well for her.

I remember a friend telling me he used a boaters hand-held air horn to scare them off when camping, so you might try that.

Shooting a bear should always be a last resort if attacked or a family member is at high risk. If it ever comes to that, make sure to take careful aim with gun powerful enough to do the job.

I really like that bear spray can idea, though.

 

[Val]

From the bear's point of view- your house is a GREAT restaurant. fresh fruit, nice view of the "animals" (that would be you), etc.....what you have to do is change this. Taint the apples (and whatever else s/he is eating) with pepper sauce, an emetic (ask the vet or your local garden store or try Gemplers.com), and leave the tainted food for the bear. Play loud music, set off flares, bang on garbage can lids (safely from the house with the windows open), play a recording of barking dogs when ever s/he comes around. Make sure all nontainted garbage/food sources are tightly sealed and bear proof. You must make your yard a "bad" place to be rather than a "fun" place to be....be careful and don't get close to the (now irritated) bear, and remember that it may take several "bad" episodes for the bear to get a clue (one bad experience at the restaurant may not make you NEVER come back, but several would!). Unfortunately, you aren't getting rid of the bear, just moving it to different location. On the other hand, bears will keep the other "wildlife" population down a bit....having a large but relatively distant predator is a good thing.

Good luck with the bear! And have fun irritating him/her!

 

[piratesmate]

I find it interesting how different areas of the country respond to bears "in the neighborhood." Leave them alone?!?! I'm not being critical, just very surprised!

Around here, we call the police & they get in touch with the correct animal control people. The bears are always tranquilized and moved - far away. Occasionally, a bear will keep returning & they have to keep finding somewhere to take it further away.

It happens at least once a year that we hear of a bear in the general area. Only once did it get to the point that they thought they'd have to put the bear down because it kept coming back. The last time, though, they got it far enough away that it didn't come back.

 

[Kallison]

Deb I'm near Doylestown, I think those areas have more bears. NJ has a big bear problem. My GF lives in Hope NJ, living with bears is an every day occurrence for them.

 

[Pam]

Around here, we call the police & they get in touch with the correct animal control people. The bears are always tranquilized and moved - far away.

That is my answer - but you actually need to contact your Game Commission office. You should be able to find the number in the phone book or on the web. You could also call the police and ask them for the number.

 

[GeorgeG]

Our animal control people won't do anything unless the bears are hurt, being aggressive, or causing damage. We're a populated residential area so we don't get them on a daily basis and then they just wander from yard to yard until they get bored and wander back into the mountains. So far nobody has had any real problems.