Black bears that haven’t eaten for a number of months are beginning to emerge from their winter dens, as state wildlife officers warn Bay Staters to take away chook feeders and different potential meals sources from their yards to assist preserve bears out of neighborhoods.
“The big issue is they’re very hungry after not eating for 4 to 5 months,” Dave Wattles, black bear and furbearer biologist on the Massachusetts Division of Fisheries and Wildlife, informed the Herald on Thursday.
“With not a lot of natural food available, they’re drawn to human-associated foods, and bird feeders are the number one human-associated food for bears in Massachusetts,” he added. “So our message for residents is to take down your bird feeders.”
There are at the least 4,500 black bears in Massachusetts, and their vary is increasing eastward.
Natural meals corresponding to acorns and different nuts are normally obtainable on the bottom, however final yr’s fall onerous mast crop was meager.
Bears will usually ignore seasonally obtainable pure meals, together with skunk cabbage, in favor of a straightforward meal at a yard chook feeder.
“Bird feeders are the gateway food for bears,” Wattles mentioned. “They’ll exploit other foods at homes as well.”
In addition to eradicating chook feeders, residents ought to safe different potential meals sources, together with rubbish or open compost.
People have to additionally safe bee hives, chickens, and livestock. Properly maintained electrical fencing is the one approach to defend chickens or bee hives from bears, Wattles mentioned.
“Electric fencing is really the key to that,” he added. “Bears have learned that chicken coops can be an easy meal for them.”
When feminine black bears emerge from hibernation with their new child cubs and so they discover meals in neighborhoods, the mama bear is coaching her cubs to discover backyards to search out meals.
“If they find food on decks, they’ll return there in the future,” Wattles mentioned. “The identical goes for breaking into sheds, and generally even breaking into houses.
“You need to make sure you’re not attracting bears by removing those food sources,” he added.
If you get pleasure from watching birds in your yard, MassWildlife suggests including a water function, rising native crops, shrubs, and bushes to draw birds.
Source: www.bostonherald.com”