Poor berry crop leaves bears vulnerable; secure garbage

Laura Lundquist

(Missoula Current) This year’s short winter and minimal berry production means more of Montana’s bears are getting into trouble while looking for food anywhere they can get it.

Fish, Wildlife & Parks bear biologist Jamie Jonkel has watched berry crops peak and decline over the decades, but this year is particularly bad, and that’s potentially bad for bears.

“This year is panning out to be one of the worst natural-food failure years on record,” said Jonkel in a press release. “Our regional bear team is working around the clock, and we are asking the public to be patient and to please be diligent with containing all attractants.”

With the short winter, bears were moving around earlier in the year, using up valuable energy. So they’ve been on the search for food longer than normal. At this time of year, bears would normally be gleaning huckleberry bushes in the forest, but the drought and heat have led to fewer bushes producing their purple prizes.

Now as current food sources are becoming scarce, more bears are turning to human-related sources such as unsecured garbage, unsecured chicken coops and pet food left outside. FWP staff have responded to more than 250 black bear-related incidents in and around the Missoula area in the last two months, and many of those have involved bears getting into chicken coops near homes.

That’s only going to get worse heading into autumn, when bears enter hyperphagia, feeling the need to put on the pounds before denning for the winter.

Jonkel and other bear advocates are urging people to be sure to keep pet food and trashcans inside and, for those who insist on keeping chickens in bear country, to use electric fencing around chicken coops.

“Uncontained garbage is by far our biggest issue, but over the last 20 years, we have also seen a huge increase in chicken and small livestock-related conflicts,” Jonkel said. “If you have backyard livestock like chickens or goats, it is critical that you have them secured with hot-ground/multi-wire electric fence, and FWP can help if you have questions.”

Bears that otherwise wouldn’t interact with people are driven by hunger into conflict situations. Once a bear gets repeated food rewards from digging in garbage cans or eating bird or pet food, it can become food-conditioned and could get more aggressive about rummaging around houses.

Biologists must then make the call of whether to relocate or kill the bear even though the bear is just trying to survive. Even when relocated, bears have a lower rate of survival because they can be killed on roads or traveling through unfamiliar territory as they try to return home, and if they make it home, they might resume their bad habitats. So if people care, they’ll contain all attractants so they won’t tempt bears in the first place.

“We really need your help this year,” said FWP Region 1 bear specialist Justine Vallieres. “We live in an area with a high density of both black and grizzly bears, and when natural food sources are low, we all play a role in keeping our communities and wildlife safe. Being proactive about securing attractants can make a big difference, because even if you haven’t had a bear visit before, there’s always a chance one could pass through.”