Don't Feed the Bears

This article was posted on my companies internal Web site. (I have changed the actual name of mountain to "The Mountain".)


Title: Bear Alert at The Mountain- June 20, 2007
Body: The Bear Facts:

They are back and hungry – and curious. There are at least three different bears roaming around the Mountain community at the moment. Two black and one cinnamon in the one to two year old range. They are most often seen along the main road but there have been some encounters on the mountain as well – these encounters are with older bears. The concern is that they don’t get too comfortable around humans. Unfortunately the cinnamon yearling is already there as many motorists have stopped to watch and even get out of their car for pictures. This bear has also been fed. None of this is good.
Fish and Game has told us that they are out of the bear relocation business and if they have to deal with a problem bear they most likely will shoot it. Sadly, if this bear meets that fate it will be because of inappropriate human interaction. Please, do not feed these animals or even stop to watch them.

Any activity that makes them more comfortable around humans may ultimately cost them their lives. These are wild animals as well and just because they seem tame and cuddly, they aren’t. They’re after one thing and that is food. What seems like a docile encounter can instantly turn into an extremely dangerous one. A few days ago an 11 year old boy was killed in Utah by a black bear in a unprovoked attack while the family was asleep in their tent.

To date, the cinnamon bear seems to be the only one that is acting human friendly. Bears have run off in other encounters and have been territorial in at least one hiking encounter. We are going to try to re-program the cinnamon bear by employing some interactive tactics that have proven successful in making them afraid of humans again. Can’t guarantee it will work but we do need everyone’s support by not encouraging them to approach you in any way. If we’re not successful we may need to have Fish and Game intervene.

Limit your hiking to daylight hours. Bears react more aggressively to shadows in the evening. Please leave your pets at home – they may attract bears and in their efforts to defend you, they could endanger you. While you are hiking, make noise (bells, whistles, horns) and carry bear spray with you. If you encounter a bear that doesn’t want to move out of your way, choose another route (don’t cross in front of them). Don’t ever get between a sow and her cubs. If you suspect you have, move quickly out of the way.

The Mountain does not allow firearms on their property. [I especially like that this last line was added to the article.]

My note: For anyone that thinks bears are cuddly and cute you should watch the movie grizzly man. Come on people, use some common sense! Don't feed the bears or the next thing you know you will be the main course to their huckleberry dessert.