WHAT
A FIND — Larry Bifaro and his son Anthony hold black bear cubs discovered in
Tannersville in March 2007. The cubs each weigh between 5 and 7 pounds.
By DEBORAH A. MILES
With spring in the air, people are beginning to dust off their grills, plan
picnics, and eat outdoors.
It’s also the time of year when American black bears wake up from their long
winter naps, leave their dens, and mosey down the mountain to rummage through
your last barbeque scraps.
Black bears are notorious for emptying garbage cans, licking a grill clean, and
tearing down bird feeders. If they become a nuisance in your neighborhood,
chances are you will call someone at the state Department of Environmental
Conservation (DEC) for help.
“Seventy-five percent of our nuisance bear calls involve bird feeders or
garbage,” said Larry Bifaro, a wildlife biologist at DEC’s Stamford office and a
PEF Division 169 member.
“We actually call this the nuisance season. To avoid conflict with the bears, we
advise people to stop feeding birds in April and to learn how to properly store
their garbage,” Bifaro said.
Bear management
DEC’s bear management team conducts community meetings to help guide bear
management goals and decisions. The team studies various sections of the state
that have a growing number of incidents caused by black bears. They occasionally
tag the bears when working on nuisance activity.
Bifaro, a co-leader of the team, said black bears live throughout the state. He
said studies estimate 1,600 to 2,000 bears live in the Catskill region. The
Adirondack region has about 5,000 and the Allegheny region about 400 to 500.
“And, they wander quite a bit,” he said.
Co-existing
The size of a black bear, up to 600 pounds, can be intimidating, especially when
they stand or walk on their hind legs, which they do to get a better scent when
they encounter something they don’t recognize or understand.
Black bears almost never injure people. Bifaro said there have been three
fatalities due to black bears in the eastern United States during the past few
decades. And only about a dozen incidents of injury have occurred in New York
during that time, most of them minor.
“Black bears rarely show aggression toward humans, unless unduly provoked,” said
Dick Henry, wildlife manager. “They are omnivores and they eat a wide variety of
foods, relying on berries, nuts, leaves, and fruits. They may occasionally eat
small mammals, but large mammals are not part of their diet.
“One of the first things we learn to adore as infants is a teddy bear and then
we learn a level of fear from the story of Goldilocks.” Henry said. “Neither is
accurate and, as a result, people often have a love/fear relationship with
bears. The best way to co-exist with bears is to enjoy them from afar
BEAR HUNT - Dick Henry, Chuck Dente and Bifaro check out the best angle to get a shot at the female bear in the den. She was chemically immobilized with a dart for a routine den exam. The four cubs were found with the mama bear. DEC file photo
The
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