N.H. officials warn hikers after uptick in begging bears

“If you’re hiking in places like the White Mountains, you’re going to see bears."

Hide that picnic basket. U.S. Forest Service is advising campers and hikers to be aware of recent bear activity.

Officials said bears that have gotten used to being around people are following campers and begging for food. Bears have sometimes destroyed tents and backpacks as they look for easy meals.

Forest staff also say there have been interactions between bears and dogs.

“If you’re hiking in places like the White Mountains, you’re going to see bears,” New Hampshire Fish and Game Program Supervisor Andrew Timmins told NBC Boston. “The key is to recognize the bear is not approaching you because it’s aggressive. The bear is approaching you because it could be food conditioned and it’s used to getting food tossed to it.”

Since mid-July, forest staff have received near daily reports of food-conditioned bears interacting with people within and around the Pemigewasset wilderness near Lincoln, New Hampshire.

Frequent encounters between bears and hikers occurred along the Lincoln Woods, Bondcliff, Franconia Brook, Lincoln Brook, and Blak Pond Trails, and at the Liberty Springs and Thirteen Falls Tent sites.

Forest staff say the best way to stop this behavior is to prevent people from feeding bears additional food.

Here are some tips to avoid encounters with bears:

• Campers and hikers should maintain clean campsites.
• Store all food, garbage, and aromatic items like toothpaste and other toiletries securely out of bears’ reach, and not inside tents or unsecured campsites.
• If you plan a multi-day trip, store food in a bear canister overnight.
• Use bear boxes provided at established campsites. When closed properly, these boxes are proven bear-proof storage containers.

What to do if you encounter a bear:

• If approached by a food-conditioned bear, stand your ground.
• Do not run, turn your back, or abandon your backpack.
• Stand up tall with your arms up high while making noise.
• If the bear remains undeterred, slowly back away.
• Keep your dog leashed if you are hiking with a dog in or around Pemigewasset Wilderness.

Timmins told NBC Boston that New Hampshire hasn’t seen a bear fatality in hundreds of years. But, if people aren’t careful, bears that get too comfortable could have to be euthanized.

“We certainly want to educate people about how to interact with a bear to try to break any habituated behavior that may be forming, but we also have to make the determination, is this a bear that needs to be captured and euthanized, which is not our preference,” Timmins said.

Forest staff say that those who may not be comfortable sharing the forest with bears that have lost their natural fear of humans should consider an alternative destination.

New Hampshire isn’t the only New England state seeing more bears. Here in Massachusetts, Worcester had its own encounter in June, where “Charlie” had to be tranquilized and returned to the wild.