Living with Black Bears

About 5 years ago, my wife and I left our home in Montclair New Jersey and moved to the wilds of Pennsylvania. Our family and friends think we are nuts and in a way, I guess we are. However, we live in a beautiful gated community nestled in the Delaware National Forest. Our home backs to the forest and life here is basically idyllic. We see more deer than people on a daily basis, not to mention the hummingbirds and all the other critters that move through the forest.

Our Realtor told us that we would also see a lot of black bears but basically they were much less of a problem than the deer which were in over abundance. We have quite a few predators here and have seen bobcats, raccoons, foxes and coyotes. When walking the streets, you can easily get lulled into believing you are not at any risk. Modern houses with garages and people going about their daily activities give the impression of a typical upscale neighborhood. We don't have car jacking, drive by shootings, and other big city crime, but we do have predators and the Black Bear is the biggest and king of this forest.

We saw our first Black Bear within months of moving in and since then have encountered many and photographed a few. After seeing my first Black Bear, I started reading and researching Black Bears a lot and developed my own rules on how to coexist with them.

Get a Dog
I don't have to worry about being surprised by a bear thanks to my dog, Deuce. When we first moved here, Deuce barked at everything. Now, when he sees deer or turkeys, he ignores them. He will still give chase if he can, but doesn't bark at them. Bears are different, he barks differently and he ALWAYS knows when one is about. Most bears will run from a dog. Bears regard all dogs as wolves and wolf packs will kill a bear if they are hungry enough. Certain dogs can survive an encounter with a bear. Karelian Bear Dogs are bred and used by ranchers to teach bears to recognize and avoid human territory. More information can be found at to http://www.beardogs.org. Airedale Terriers and Border Collies, like Deuce are also good dogs to have around bears. Airedale's have long been used by bear hunters and border collies have a unique quick turning ability that allows them to escape from Bears, most of the time. Dogs are the best early warning to know bears are afoot.

Have Flexible Plans
One morning I set off to walk Deuce as I do every morning. He was particularly aggravated. This was before I learned to identify his ability to warn me about bears. As we left our driveway and we came around the bend we saw a huge Boar (male black bear) standing about 20 feet away. Deuce started to bark, the Bear froze and so did I as I made Deuce heel and come to my side. The Bear had his head down and looked almost like a dog waiting for me to throw him a ball. I backed up and as I did, Deuce tugged on his leash which caused me to look down and break eye contact with the bear. The bear took this as a sign to amble off. I changed my plans and went home to Deuce's distress. He patrolled the fence for hours looking for the Bear. We took our walk in the afternoon that day.

Don't Feed the Bears
I know that most of you would never think about feeding a Bear. If you keep your garbage outside your house you are feeding the bears. If you put food scraps into you compost, you are feeding the bears. If you have a bird feeder, you are feeding the bears. The fist year we lived here we had a bird feeder on the porch. We never cleaned up the Bird seeds, heck it's biodegradable right? One day, after taking a shower, I walked into my living room to see two bears on my porch eating birdseed. Deuce went crazy and the Bears ran away. It turns out bears are better students of our behavior then we are of theirs. They look for bird feeders and garbage cans. They are more active here on Monday's when people but their trash out than any other day of the week. When you check in to a State Park in Pennsylvania, they tell you to hide your coolers at night and never put them in your tent because bears can smell and recognize them. My friend Jerry said, if you ever want to get rid of your kids just dress them in Coleman Colors and leave them in the woods.

Prepare for Your Walk or Hike
When walking in bear country, you need to "strap up" like Dog the Bounty Hunter. If you want to carry food make sure it is in sealed container, Bears have a great sense of smell. Always carry a cell phone and make sure your dog is leashed and under your control. Carry bear repellent or mace to be used as a last resort. Bear repellent is like mace but under more pressure so it can spray farther. You don't want to have to be five feet from a Bear to mace him, Bear repellent can usually spray up to 20 feet.

Pay attention to the Season
When bears first emerge from their hibernation they are famished and will eat anything. This is how that person died in Tennessee two years ago. They happened on a bear emerging from hibernation and were not prepared. Bears don't hunt humans, but if they are famished they will attack. Bears are also very active in the autumn when they eat continually to put on weight for hibernation. Special caution is required during these seasons.

Get a Telephoto Lens
Bears are wonderful creatures to observe, but very territorial. You have to give them space. Don't try to sneak up on them to get a better picture or video. That is a sure way to provoke them. Remember they are scared of us; we hunt them and kill them. To them, we are like wolves and they want nothing to do with us. So if you want to take pictures or videos of them, for God's sake get at least a 200mm telephoto lens so you can observe and photograph them form a distance.

If you encounter a Bear
I don't know who first said that if you encounter a bear, you should drop to the ground and play dead. Don't do it, it is ridiculous .Bears are playful and inquisitive animals and such strange behavior will certainly call their investigation. If you encounter a bear;

• Back up while maintaining eye contact
• Make sure the bear has an escape route to get away, most bears want to get away from you, and they don't really want to have anything to do with you.
• Make yourself big, bring your arms away from your body and stand tall while yelling as loud as you can
• Do not run or turn your back on the bear
• If the bear charges make yourself big and yell while backing away, you do not have to maintain your ground
• Take shelter in a building or car
• If the bear is charging, use your mace but only if you are sure you will not mace your self, pay attention to the wind
• Bears stand up to get a better view or hear something in the distance, not to attack. You will know where the Bigfoot legend comes from when you see a Bear standing up in the center of a foggy highway in the early morning mist.

If you live in bear country, remember bears are our neighbors and it is up to us learn how to live with them. They were here first and they aren't going anywhere so if you live out here in the wilds, it's up to you to learn how to live with the bears. We are the smart ones, right?