It's bear season again in the White Mountains, but in this case, the bears are doing the hunting for human food and garbage instead of us pursuing them. The past couple of years have been pretty quiet as far as bear calls and trapping activities go. There have been a few younger animals roaming through developed areas looking to establish territories but not too many have had to be removed. The well-timed spring rains of the past couple of years came just in time to green up a few types of grass, some broad leaf plants, and flowers collectively called forbs. These first plants to green up can be sufficient first meals after their long hibernation. The fibrous meals can help scour and clean a digestive system that hasn't had to function very much for a few months, so it is pretty important.  

The ongoing drought, with even less moisture this spring, has prevented the production of the natural bear foods they need before berries and insects in rotten logs or under rocks become abundant enough. They might be able to find the one or two acorns left by the hungry Abert's squirrels, but some bears are getting more desperate. Even sows with cubs. So this year, the bouquet of human garbage has become alluring enough to risk socializing with humans for more bears.

Part of the increase in bear calls may be the lull in bear problems in the past couple of years but this year has definitely started with more encounters, sometimes with bears who don't appear afraid of people and could pose a human safety risk. The last thing anybody wants to see is another human encounter with a bear like the one that killed the 61-year-old woman from Gilbert in 2011.  

And the bears are not discriminating, in more ways than one, in their selection of garbage and human food sources. They'll eat fresh leftovers or the freezer-burned steaks that have been fermenting in the garbage can all week after you decided to clean the freezer the day after garbage pickup day. Their choice of location to eat is not limited this year either, as they have been hitting campgrounds, urbanized areas, and more remote dwellings.  

The main attractants this year are pretty typical, as along with garbage cans placed out on the street before garbage day, bears love the low-hanging bird feeders, including the “Red Bull” of bear drinks, hummingbird feeders.  

So what is a person to do to keep bears out of our backyards? The best method is to store your garbage within a hard structure like a garage or shed and not place it on your street until just before the truck arrives. If you don't have a hard structure to store your garbage in, you can find ways to latch or tie down the lids of garbage cans to at least frustrate the bears a little.

Weekend visitors often are faced with having to leave on Sunday with the garbage truck not showing up until Wednesday or Thursday. Even a Tuesday garbage pickup day gives the bears way too much time to peruse the smorgasbord of green cans lining the street. Fortunately, some local garbage removal companies will even have their drivers get out of their trucks to retrieve a garbage can from the owner's yard instead of street-side, for an extra charge. If your garbage company doesn't provide that service, you can complain to them before asking a neighbor if they could do it for a nice gift card, barbecue, or dinner out at a local restaurant. That tastes better than a fine from your local homeowner's association, which is possible in some areas.

Bird feeders need to be placed high enough so a standing bear can't reach them, which can be a challenge unless using a step ladder or stool or a pulley-raised feeder. The birds will certainly find other sources of nutrition if you have to take the feeders down entirely for a few weeks until the bears move on to a different area. Since birds do not feed at night, some people bring their hummingbird feeders indoors at night just to be sure. If your feeder looks like it exploded, a bear raid is to blame. 

Unfortunately, not everyone wants to avoid bears and some folks even try to attract bears to get a photo to “brag” about. Some people have better life insurance than other folks, I guess. Large, older, aggressive, and recaptured bears have been proven to continue their raids on human garbage, cabins, tents, and even homes once they discover this easy source of calories. Unfortunately, these bears are the ones implicated in most attacks on humans so it would be irresponsible to allow them the opportunity to hurt someone if they can be removed from the area. Some bears have to be euthanized and even translocated bears moved to a distant location rarely re-establish their territories successfully and often are killed by the resident bears where they are moved. So, bears that get used to being fed by humans don't live very long, unfortunately, prompting the popular bumper (and garbage can) sticker “Fed Bears are Dead Bears”.

If we all work together and prevent bears from becoming freeloaders or losing their respectful fear of humans, our dogs can be safely walked at dusk and we won't be picking up the last week's garbage from a trail strewn across our neighbors’ yards! Keep bears wild and out of our garbage!