Keep Idaho Bears Wild

By Brian Johnson, Idaho Department of Fish and Game The young male grizzly's thick coat shimmered in the morning sunlight. Fat is fit for a bear, and this bear was very, very fit. Unfortunately, this bear had grown fit on an artificial diet of corn and black sunflower seeds put out by a landowner for the deer and the birds. He had lost his natural fear of humans, and worse yet, he associated food with humans. Consequently, he found himself bouncing down a dusty road in my culvert trap and was soon sporting a brand new radio tracking collar, an ear tag, and the dubious label of being a "nuisance bear" that locals had named "Indy". My love of bears started when I was 10 years old. It was 1969, and my family was on vacation in our nation's premier national park - Yellowstone. We were all thrilled to see dozens of bears lined up alongside the roads panhandling for food. I clearly remember my brother and me throwing marshmallows and cookies to the hungry bears who obviously relished the tasty treats. At the time, the Park Service actually allowed public viewings of the bears at open garbage dumps and had bleachers available for prime bear watching. During the 1970s, however, the Park Service closed the dumps and banned feeding. A growing body of scientific evidence indicated that allowing bears to get human food was the worst thing that could happen to a wild bear. Though bear attacks on humans are rare, a bear that has lost its natural fear of humans and associates humans with food is actually far more likely than wild bears to attack and injure or kill people. Most of the time when a bear becomes a nuisance, however, it is the bear who winds up the loser. Conservation officers must either trap and relocate the bear or euthanize the offender. Therefore, the goal of all bear managers today is to keep bears on a natural diet and away from people. Tips for helping bears and avoiding conflicts with humans include:

• Never feed bears or allow them to get food near your home.
• Do not feed wildlife, including birds, during the time when bears are active (April through October).
• Store all garbage in a locked garage or shed, or use bear proof garbage cans.
• Feed your pets inside or only put out enough food for one feeding.
• Do not compost anything except grass and leaves.
• Pick fruit from trees as soon as it ripens and clean rotten fruit off the ground. Electric fencing is highly effective for bear proofing orchards.

The Idaho Department of Fish and Game will continue to keep a close watch on Indy, the bear, and hopes that he will return to a natural lifestyle in the mountains of north Idaho. He is young and may yet adapt to life in the wild. I have high hopes for Indy. Far too many times in my career I have seen "fed bears" wind up as "dead bears." My hope for Indy is that he dies of old age with a belly full of ripe huckleberries. For further questions about "living with bears" please call the Idaho Department of Fish and Game at 208-769-1414 or a local conservation officer. Brian Johnson is a Fish and Game conservation officer in the Panhandle Region.