TOWER—If you live in town and you’ve seen a bear in your backyard recently, you’re probably not alone: Lately there have been bear sightings in most Iron Range cities.
According to local Department of Natural Resources officials, quite a few northern Minnesota towns are getting inundated with bears looking for food.
“While we wait for natural foods to produce, homeowners and visitors must remain vigilant to remove attractants such as garage, bird feeders, BBQs, or dog food,” Jessica Holmes, Tower Area DNR Wildlife Manager, said in a recent email to the Mesabi Tribune.
Bears can consume 12,000 to 20,000 calories a day to prepare for hibernation, which is the equivalent of six to 7 pounds of black oil sunflower seeds or about 700 to 800 acorns, and there are roughly 13,000 to 18,000 bears in the state—most in the northeastern portion.
And while they are waiting for their favorite treats to ripen—mostly berries—they are looking for something else to eat. According to the DNR, bear attractants are things that smell, taste or look like food to bears. Examples include birdseed, dog food, grease on grills, garbage, fish entrails and fruit.
Once a bear finds a food source, it will return repeatedly. Bears prefer natural foods and are especially attracted to calorie-dense food sources. They have an incredible sense of smell, are opportunistic and are easily attracted to foods or food sources provided by humans.
This often times leads the animals into populated areas.
And that’s when potential problems begin. Conflicts can arise when bears interact with domestic pets, tip over garbage cans, or damage bird feeders, personal property, beehives, livestock and agricultural crops.
According to Holmes, the best way to avoid problems with bears is to not attract them in the first place.
Holmes said the public should follow the basic BearWise.org messaging when it comes to at-home tactics.
• Never feed or approach bears: Intentionally feeding bears or allowing them to find anything that smells or tastes like food teaches bears to approach homes and people looking for more. Bears will defend themselves if a person gets too close, so don’t risk your safety and theirs.
• Secure food, garbage and recycling: Food and food odors attract bears, so don’t reward them with easily available food, liquids or garbage.
• Remove bird feeders when bears are active: Birdseed and grains have lots of calories, so they’re very attractive to bears. Removing feeders is the best way to avoid creating conflicts with bears.
• Never leave pet food outdoors: Feed pets indoors when possible. If you must feed pets outside, feed in single portions and remove food and bowls after feeding. Store pet food where bears can’t see or smell it.
• Clean and store grills: Clean grills after each use and make sure that all grease, fat and food particles are removed. Store clean grills and smokers in a secure area that keeps bears out.
• Alert neighbors to bear activity: See bears in the area or evidence of bear activity? Tell your neighbors and share information on how to avoid bear conflicts. Bears have adapted to living near people; now it’s up to us to adapt to living near bears.
Resolving persistent bear problems
According to DNR officials, “people share in the responsibility to prevent conflicts with bears, and the DNR relies on the public to manage attractants as the primary means for reducing conflicts.”
If you have persistent bear problems after making recommended adjustments from the bear preparedness tips, you can, according to DNR information, contact your local DNR Area Wildlife Manager for assistance.
But don’t count on the DNR trapping and moving the bear—the agency stopped doing that in the late 1990’s, as it was determined that it wasn’t effective based on cost and a black bear’s ability to travel many, many miles to return to its own area.
The message is: We live in bear territory, it’s not uncommon for the animals to wander into town.
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