Last month we talked about the early Spring bringing bears out of hibernation early. Well, now they are out in large numbers, coming out of their dens and doing what bears do: looking for food!
One young cub has already pried its way into a Whitefish home to enjoy some leftover Easter candy. It came in through a pet door—!!!
This shouldn’t be cause for alarm, but rather a reminder that it is time for every Flathead Valley resident to lock up pet food, bird seed, trash, and other food attractants.
“It is entirely avoidable if we start at the beginning of the season and make a conscious effort to secure these food attractants,” Erik Wenum, bear and lion specialist with the Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks, said. “Bears don’t just go from wandering around in the woods doing bear things to going into homes. It’s a taught learning curve.”
From the Flathead Beacon: “Wildlife managers recommend bear-resistant bins in communities and on ranches; electric fence systems to protect chicken coops, bee yards and sheep bedding grounds; and random redistribution of livestock carcasses each spring. Domestic chickens have been a particularly serious problem the past few years, according to wildlife managers.”
Educating yourself is vitally important. Remember there is a protocol for the use and purchase of bear spray, safe hiking, and safer camping.
Bears! Photo courtesy of Orias1978, Flickr
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