A bit of BearWise Education

Ashley Hobbs when asked about a bear entering homes in the Beaverdam Valley:

“Situations like this can be prevented in the future by following the BearWise Basics community wide. When we secure human-provided food attractants and establish consistent, healthy boundaries for bears, we keep people, pets, and bears safe.

It’s also important to regularly remind local leadership that you value coexistence. Speaking with your county, city, and state representatives about access to bear-resistant garbage carts and harsher penalties for intentional feeding can be a great step forward.”

-Ashley Hobbs

NC Wildlife Resource Commission, Bear Biologist

BearWise website

Reminder: Bears are wild animals.

There are many good reasons not to feed them including:

Feeding can create unintended conflicts with humans. Which can lead to having to kill the bear!
Feeding increases the chance of disease transmission to wildlife, people and pets.
Reproduction rates may also be affected when an artificial food source is readily available. In the wild, the number of animals being born is often directly related to the amount of natural food available. The number of animals surviving will also depend on how much food is available. This is nature’s way of keeping a balance.
Feeding can lead to unhealthy animals and foraging habits.

People who feed bears might have good intentions but feeding bears can lead to bad bear behavior which can lead to the bear having to be killed.

It is not a kindness to feed them. They have an abundance and a variety of natural healthy food that they can get on their own and be healthier for it.

Below are a few flyers from BearWise.org on some helpful information on how to keep yourself and the bears healthy and safe.

A bit of BearWise Education

Reminder: Bears are wild animals.

A six flyers on how to live with bears