- Keep a clean camp. Pick up garbage and store it in a closed vehicle or in a bag tied high in a tree.
- Store all food in a bear-resistant container, camper or vehicle, or hang it from a rope between two trees at least 10 feet apart and 10 feet off the ground. Never keep food in your tent.
- Do not bury food scraps, pour out cooking grease, or leave anything that might be tasty on the ground or in the fire pit. Also, store barbecue grills or other smelly cooking gear inside your vehicle or within a sealed container.
- If you see a bear, watch it from a distance and leave it alone. Black bears are not usually aggressive, but the danger may increase if a bear loses its fear of humans.
Campers and Hikers Advised to be Bear Aware
idfg-mcoleman
Families camping, boating and fishing at Lucky Peak Reservoir, just minutes up the Boise River from Idaho's capital, may not realize they have entered bear country, but they have.
A young black bear reportedly followed an 11-year-old boy down the dock as the boy was about to board a canoe earlier this month. The boy's parents scared off the bear by hitting the dock with their paddles. A bear answering the same description was later seen hanging around in a popular wooded camping area on the lake's shore, biting into at least one cooler and showing a preference for desserts and chips over hotdogs.
Young bears learning to make a living on their own often show more curiosity than fear toward humans and may make poor choices about areas where they are not tolerated. Bears that become accustomed to people and human foods are nearly always headed for a sad end. People do bears no favor by allowing them to develop dangerous habits.
Idaho Fish and Game reminds campers and hikers to be aware of bear etiquette in the woods. Campers and backpackers should be careful storing their food to avoid attracting black bears. If it smells good to you, it smells good to a bear too.
Tips for around camp include: