Bears can be unwanted dinner guests before winter

Matt Unrau

When John Hodge woke up on Monday morning he didn’t expect company for breakfast or lunch. But, as he walked out of his house he saw that an uninvited guest had already been helping himself.

A young black bear was perched approximately 50 feet up on a pine tree growing in his front yard off of River Road West five miles from Plains.

Hodge first saw signs of the bear two weeks ago when he came out to his garden and saw that the apples, not suitable for picking, had disappeared over night and bear scat was lying directly underneath the tree.

“We get a lot of critters that roam back and forth, but we never see them ever,” says Hodge who has lived here for three and a half years

However, he got a good look at the bear on Monday morning.

“The dog was raining cain this morning and normally she doesn’t do that, so I came out and saw the bear,” says Hodge.

As soon as the bear left Hodge planned to empty out his bird feeders until it was cold enough where all the bears were hibernating. Kim Annis, Grizzly Bear Management Specialist for the Fish Wildlife and Parks, says most black bears are hibernating now with the exception of young black bears. Females with cubs are probably already in their dens, but Grizzly bears stay out until mid-November to early-December.

Shortly after noon on Monday, the bear slowly with deliberate movements began to climb down the tree until he stopped eight feet from the ground where he waited for 20 minutes until making his full descent.

Back on the ground the bear took a seat near a keltic cross in Hodge’s garden and began to lazily eat crab apples, which surprised Hodge who thought bears didn’t eat the fruit, and said he would now have to pick off all the crab apples on the tree.

Annis says people should do their best to remove all bear attractants including dog food, fruit trees, garbages and bird feeders. Annis explains that typical bird feed has a high-calorie content and bears can substitute 10 hours of foraging for bird feed.

Annis says this bear in particular looks to have some small injuries to his ears and feet and that may explain why he may be searching people areas for food as they are usually easier areas for collecting food.

However, Ennis says the ease of access may be detrimental for helping the bear heal.

“The more ‘people food’ it finds, the longer it will be before the bear decides to den up, and in it’s den is where it will heal the best,” says Ennis.

She says that when people do find a bear in their yard they should immediately call FWP to report it. Sanders County residents can call FWP Game Warden Tom Chianelli (240-2271), FWP biologist Bruce Sterling (827-4389), FWP bear specialist Kim Annis (291-4161) or FWP bear specialist Jamie Jonkel (542-5508).

Although Hodge couldn’t wait for the bear to move on and away from his yard he does admit that it is a once in a lifetime event for the bear to get that close. “It’s sort of cool having a bear in your front yard,” says Hodge.