Bear necessities: Food tops the list

With more cubs to feed this year, Vermont black bears have been all the more relentless in finding food sources . (Photo Courtesy Vermont Fish & Wildlife Department)

You might call it the year of the bear. The state has received a record number of sightings, especially in June, as black bears often neared human dwellings in search of food and finding it, in bird feeders, compost piles and other plentiful sources. 

Humans are witnessing the impact of multiple factors, according to state bear biologist Forrest Hammond. He said the short winter was followed by a delay in vegetation growth, turning bears away from their usual food sources. The ongoing drought is having the same effect. 

"With bears, it's always about food," Hammond said. "They go five months without eating at all, and their whole social structure is based on size."

He urged people to bring in their bird-feeders and secure any bags of bird seed — a major attraction. When a bear strikes bird-seed gold, or some other abundant source, it's likely to keep returning every night and visit the neighbors, too. 

"A bear gets more nutrition from those five pounds of bird seed than a whole day of eating vegetation in the woods," Hammond said. 

With the recent composting law in effect, that's proving to be a big bear attraction, as well. Hammond said there are a lot of people who haven't composted before, and if they're composting incorrectly or odors are getting out, the bears will show up. 

"There's probably a lot more compost in people's backyards than there's ever been," Hammond said. He noted there has also been more food waste, with a large number of people at home for many weeks. 

Not only are there a lot of reasons for bears to drift closer to houses, but there are more bears, too. Hammond explained that in the past decade, bear food sources in the wild have become more cyclical, with a good food year followed by a poor one. The adult females have begun synchronized reproduction, so that a lot more cubs are born after a good food year, he said. 

"Every adult female we knew of, in Vermont and New Hampshire, all produced cubs this past year, so there are more females with little cubs out and about this year," Hammond said. "The females have been desperate to find enough food to lactate and feed their little cubs, so they survive."   

Though there are many ursine roamers this year, there is something people can do if they catch a bear in the act: just holler. Hammond said if you make some noise, it can make the bear retreat. 

"The angry tone of your voice is something animals recognize," he said. 

That can be an important deterrent, Hammond said. He noted that a family at a second home in Waitsfield recently saw a bear at the property line while they were eating a meal at their picnic table. They all went inside, and the bear readily wandered over and got a buffet some bears could only dream of. And it won’t soon forget about it, either.

"That bear is emboldened and empowered," Hammond said. When that happens, he added, it will come back for many weeks looking for more. 

The state has an online form people can use to report black bear incidents. When it comes to responding to reports, the state prioritizes incidents of significant property damage, such as bears breaking into houses or cars, Hammond said. Fortunately, incidents of injury to people are rare. 

"Bears go to great lengths to avoid people, and not to touch people," Hammond said.

More information on living with black bears is available online through the Vermont  Fish & Wildlife Department. 

— Gareth Henderson