Bear-Human Conflicts in New Hampshire and How You Can Help!

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Those living in New Hampshire may or may not know that we have human-wildlife conflicts right in our backyards! These conflicts are caused by simple things like birdfeeders and unsecured trash. A lot of these issues stem from places popular for camping, like Keene, NH, which has a high instance of bear conflicts. I’m sure we’ve all seen the news every now and again, with mentions of bears running around a city or town causing a ruckus! This can be extremely dangerous for bears, as well as the people around them. Those of us in places with low instances of bear encounters may not understand that these are not isolated incidents.
Black Bear in Bedford, NH, Helping Himself to Some Bird Seed!
http://www.newhampshire.com/storyimage/UL/20140603/NEWHAMPSHIRE1408/140609631
/AR/0/AR-140609631.jpg&q=82&stamp=&maxw=723
The daily interactions that bears have with humans have become an increasingly concerning problem. Fish and Game states that in 2016, unsecured garbage accounted for 38% of human-bear conflicts in New Hampshire. Also contributing to these conflicts are birdfeeders and unsecured chicken/poultry. Public outreach is the number 1 way to help significantly reduce the amount of human-bear conflicts in New Hampshire for Fish and Game Officials. By helping to educate the public, especially in heavily affected areas, whole communities can help prevent future conflicts and prevent bear deaths.
Black Bear in a Trash Can
http://www.vtfishandwildlife.com/learn_more/living_with_
wildlife/bear_aware/bear_resistant_trash_containers/

 If you happen to live in the Northeast, or come to these areas on vacation, you should know how to help prevent human-bear conflicts! In the summer, Fish and Game recommends to stop all bird feeding, which is one of the major attractants for bear. Clean-up spilled birdseed and put it in the trash. Not securing your garbage is the biggest problem faced with bears, so Fish and Game recommends putting garbage out the morning of pick up, not the night before! That way, bears will not destroy your garbage overnight and likely not linger around your neighborhood. Don’t leave pet food dishes out at night, and store grills after every use. The most obvious, which many people still do, is feeding the bears! Don’t feed bears, because they will come back to the area for more food!

Help yourself and help the bears by taking these steps to secure your yards and homes, if it can prevent just one unnecessary bear death, it’s worth it!! If you want any more information, here is a link to a NH Fish and Game article about bears in New Hampshire, along with a toll-free number to call in case of any bear-related problems or questions. 1-888-749-2327 (1-888-SHY-BEAR)

Comments

  1. UnknownDecember 12, 2017 at 8:55 AM

    We have bears roam into our yard at least once a summer, and they also keep showing up at the trash disposal by my work!

    ReplyDelete

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