Courtesy photo
Courtesy photoForgive me for altering the words of this song. Perhaps the author didn’t know that bears don’t see terribly well, but wow can they smell! Los Alamos residents have been reporting an uptick in bear activity in town. Why? The short answer is “Humans.” That’s right. Humans and our smells. I find it ironic that we label bears as “problem” “nuisance” “habituated” when in reality, we have created and perpetuated the problem. And we are the solution to keeping our property safe and bears alive.
We need to recognize that we live in an urban-wildland interface; that it is no longer possible for bears to have their own habitat and humans to have ours; and that humans must take the right steps to reduce human/bear interactions. All of Los Alamos is bear country. Bears will come up from the canyons, walk down from the mountains, and if they are hungry enough, they will even go down to the valley in search of food. White Rock does not often have bears, but residents of White Rock should take note as well, and if a bear is spotted, everyone should take precautions.
At this time of year, bears are trying to pack on the pounds, spending up to 20 hours a day looking for 20,000 calories worth of food. Now, bears are incredibly smart and can smell seven times better than a dog. So, you do the math … if a bear could spend 20 hours eating one acorn at a time in the forest or just two hours knocking over a few smelly trash cans and slurping down a hummingbird feeder or two to reach her 20,000 goal, which do you think she’ll choose?
Bear cubs will spend 18 months with their mother. She will teach them everything she knows about where and when to find food. If mama teaches her young that calories are readily available at twelve different houses on Barranca Mesa, then when those young disperse, guess where they are headed?
What if your neighbor left raw meat out once a week to feed a mountain lion? Would you be okay with this behavior? Not me! So why are so many residents seemingly unconcerned about the fact that they are feeding the bears? Last week I took a drive up to the Western Area the night before trash pickup. I counted 55 houses on the edge of the open space, of those, 33 had either put their (unlocked) trash bins on the street, or the bins (also unlocked) were sitting next to their houses and garages. That is 60 percent of houses in an area with a great deal of bear activity, leaving their trash out for our nocturnal friends to rummage through all night long. Hmmm…
On the bright side, the County is taking an active role in tackling this issue. Bear proof locks are currently available at no charge, you just need to call the Eco Station to be put on the list to have one installed. The fact that there is a waiting list, means more people are actively seeking to minimize bear attractants. Additionally, the Environmental Sustainability Board is working to make recommendations to the County to require trash to be put out in the morning of trash pickup. The County is working with the NM Department of Game & Fish, who has a federal grant to purchase Grizzly-proof cans. These will be available next spring for purchase (at the County’s reduced cost) for those who have particularly challenging bear/trash issues. The current locks are a deterrent only and a determined bear can easily get into the can.
Now, about those bird feeders. Bird feeders never attract just birds. They attract mice, who in turn attract snakes. They attract raptors who want to eat the birds. They attract bees and wasps. They attract bears. The good news is that people that feed the birds have already developed an appreciation for our local wildlife. The bad news is that many people continue to feed the “birds” even after they catch a bear emptying their feeders. Caring for one type of wildlife to the detriment of another does not a wildlife steward make. Clearly, in areas where there is significant bear activity, birds should not be fed. Birds don’t need the food, especially in the summer. Putting out a bird bath and planting flowers that attract birds are much more bear-friendly options. Save the expensive seed and suet for the winter when bears are hibernating and the birds actually need it. If you are absolutely set on feeding the birds, you must rig your seed and suet feeders away from your home, porch or deck, on a rope up high so bears cannot access it and bring hummingbird feeders in every night.
As for bee hives, chicken coops and compost piles. Electrify. Period.
Got fruit trees? Then pick up fallen fruit on a regular basis. If you have so much fruit that it is overwhelming, invite friends and neighbors to share in your bounty or pay a student a small stipend to keep the fruit picked up. There is even a group on Facebook to share and exchange excess produce.
So why not relocation? Or “rescue” as one local headline recently read. Why not take “problem” bears to that happy Bear Nirvana in the bountiful wilderness far from our stinky trash and suet feeders? First, Los Alamos and the surrounding wilderness is their home. There is still ample bear habitat out there with plenty of food for bears: forbes and roots, grubs, berries, acorns, carrion, small mammals. Yum.
Secondly, relocation is rarely successful. A successful relocation depends on the age and sex of the bear, as well as how far away they are taken and their proximity to humans in the new location. An adult female is more likely to try to return to her home territory than a juvenile male that does not have an established territory. The farther away a bear is taken, particularly juveniles, the less likely they are to return to their home territory. And proximity to humans will have an impact if bears are attracted to a new town that offers the same delicious mix of trash, bird food and bee hives.
Additionally, when bears are relocated they are put in a completely different environment, possibly in the territory of a male bear, who will kill them immediately. If that doesn’t happen, finding food will be a challenge, initially, as they were not raised in the new territory. Of those that try to return to their home territory, many are killed by cars. NM Game & Fish does not put tracking colors on relocated bears, just ear tags. Therefore the outcome for New Mexico bears is only known if one of these animals is later killed by car or hunter. However, Colorado Parks and Wildlife claim “statistics show over 90 percent of relocated bears are killed within three weeks of being relocated.”
So, when Game & Fish is called, and they must be called, if humans have encouraged nuisance behavior, they will either relocate or euthanize the bear. As we approach fall, bears are even more desperate to put on weight. Starting in September, game officers will get busy with deer and elk hunting seasons and will not have the time or resources to relocate bears, so euthanasia is most likely the best option. I don’t believe any game officer relishes destroying a bear whose only fault was he was continually fed by humans. So far this year, NM Game and Fish has had to kill 35 bears and relocate six.
So, Los Alamos, we can do this, right? Let’s do what other towns that have settled in bear country have done by following a set of guidelines aimed at eliminating bear attractants. It will take everyone’s best efforts to reduce bear depredations on human property. Bears will continue to wander through town, looking for food, but if EVERYONE works together to make sure they are not rewarded, we will see a reduction in their food-seeking activities. In addition to eliminating all sources of food, please remember to employ some common sense, respect and tolerance when you see a bear walking down your street, or find one drinking from your fountain, or sitting in your apple tree. If they are causing no harm, and are gone in the morning, enjoy the fact that you are lucky enough to live in bear country.
