OUR GOAL IS TO RESOLVE HUMAN-BEAR CONFLICTBears are lured to residential areas mainly by garbage and bird feeders which we put out without understanding that human-sourced food is causing bears to die young. |
WHO WE ARE:
Bear Smart WA is an entirely volunteer-run organisation dedicated to community outreach which prevents unnecessary bear mortality due to conflict with humans.
HUMAN-BEAR CONFLICTConflicts arise from the availability of attractants. Humans responsible due to inattention to how habits affect wildlife. |
RESOLUTIONResolution begins at home - as residents control attractants - especially garbage. |
CO-EXISTENCE...A result of insight into bear behavior; and applying daily awareness with regard to local wildlife. |
ONLINE REPORTING OF BEAR SIGHTINGS & INCIDENTS*
CONFLICTS IN WASHINGTON STATE...ARE ESCALATING!
Human-caused conflict
In order to survive, bears must consume huge amounts of calories. Black
bears are opportunists with a powerful sense of smell. They easily find in garbage, the necessary calories their bodies demand. The primary cause of human-bear conflict is the negligently available garbage, bird-feeders, pet food, and unprotected chicken coops. Why Conflict Exists The image of the black bear as predatory or aggressive is a fallacy. Wild, Washington Black bears are shy & retiring, preferring to be left alone, they run when they sense humans. However, bears can become habituated to humans, and food conditioned to human food sources, and then they can seem bold and nonchalant. Habituation & Food Conditioning are terms to describe how bears change their behavior around humans. Food Conditioning occurs when bears eat human-sourced food, be it garbage or unprotected small livestock. Habituation occurs when bears are repeatedly exposed to humans, and stop responding to their natural fear of humans. It is this loss of fear that causes conflict by endangering their lives. When animals stop seeing humans as threats they can be hurt or killed by humans. Strongly habituated bears that have been rewarded with food multiple times can become bold and even seem menacing or completely nonchalant to humans. Conflict endangers bears: By eating trash, their bodies' needs to satisfy demand for calories is ever-growing. Once a bear's frame is over-sized, the main way to sustain their weight is by going back to garbage. Bears eat a lot of plastic, glass and metal found in garbage also causes digestive tract failure - and subsequently - death. Garbage & the other attractants also cause bears to cross highways to find them, leading to deaths due to vehicular collisions. (Which also result in human injury & property damage.) Development and displacement of wildlife in prime bear habitat means we replace their natural, wild foods with garbage and other human-sourced foods, which bears’ find irresistible. Land development in prime bear habitat is indirectly related to the increase in human-bear conflict, and to the numbers of bears and incidents in the area which have risen, 25% over previous years.* Humans are ultimately the cause of human-bear conflict by making food sources available to bears. *WDFW statistic |
RESOLUTION REQUIRES...KNOWLEDGE!
Major Bear attractants:
1. Garbage
2. Bird Feeders 3. Chickens, rabbits, & bee hives 4. Outdoor Animal or Pet food 5.Fruit trees and grapevines 6. Small livestock Garbage and Bird-Feeders account for approx. 70% of all conflict between humans and bears. (Studies show)
1. Best solutions are bear resistant garbage containers or storing garbage indoors until morning of pickup. 2. Stow bird feeders between March and November. 3. Livestock, beehives, fruit trees/orchards and pets should be should be protected with the use of electric fences. Any attractants that draw bears to human residential areas, causes conflict between humans and bears. When conflict arises the bears always lose and often pay with their lives. |
BECOME
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* WDFW have an online reporting tool here. We recommend that you report to both BEAR SMART WA AND WDFW:
wdfw.wa.gov/enforcement/violation/reportStart.html
wdfw.wa.gov/enforcement/violation/reportStart.html
Other Bear Smart groups across the country:
British Columbia:
Get Bear Smart Society:
Sylvia Dolson
Executive Director
ph: 604-938-4209 | Skype: sylvia.dolson
Facebook: Bear Smart
Twitter/Instagram: @bearsmart
YouTube: GetBearSmartTV
www.bearsmart.com
Lake Tahoe, California
BEAR League
Ann Bryant
530-525-PAWS(7297)
[email protected]
www.savebears.org
Durango, CO
BearSMART
Bryan Peterson, Executive Director
PO Box 2291 Durango, CO 81302-2291
970-749-4262
[email protected]
www.bearsmartdurango.org
Washington State
BearSmartWA
PO Box 152, Issaquah WA 98027
530-628-7787
[email protected]
instagram: bear_smart_wa
twitter: bearsmartwa
facebook: BearSmartWA
Get Bear Smart Society:
Sylvia Dolson
Executive Director
ph: 604-938-4209 | Skype: sylvia.dolson
Facebook: Bear Smart
Twitter/Instagram: @bearsmart
YouTube: GetBearSmartTV
www.bearsmart.com
Lake Tahoe, California
BEAR League
Ann Bryant
530-525-PAWS(7297)
[email protected]
www.savebears.org
Durango, CO
BearSMART
Bryan Peterson, Executive Director
PO Box 2291 Durango, CO 81302-2291
970-749-4262
[email protected]
www.bearsmartdurango.org
Washington State
BearSmartWA
PO Box 152, Issaquah WA 98027
530-628-7787
[email protected]
instagram: bear_smart_wa
twitter: bearsmartwa
facebook: BearSmartWA