DNR advises to be ‘Bearwise’

RABUN COUNTY — Now that warmer weather has made its debut, Georgia’s bears are out and about experts say.

According to the Georgia Department of Natural Resources, sightings of the state’s black bears generally increase as the temperatures rise and they come out of their winter dens in search of food. Already though, DNR offices are reporting bear sightings, the agency said Monday.

“If left alone, bears typically will return to an established bear range – the north Georgia mountains, the Ocmulgee River drainage system in central Georgia or the Okefenokee Swamp in the southeastern part of the state,” the DNR’s Wildlife Resources Division said in a news release. “However, as wildland and urban areas increasingly overlap, bear range likely will continue to shift and expand – meaning even more sightings are possible, as evidenced in recent years in the metro Atlanta area.”

There are no recorded bear attacks on humans in Georgia, and no fatalities, the DNR says. There have only ever been two documented fatal black bear attacks in the Southeastern United States, according to the department.

“Unless there is evidence of aggressive behavior or habituation to people, there is no cause for alarm,” said Adam Hammond, state bear biologist with the Georgia Wildlife Resources Division. “More and more, we are seeing bears show up and frequent areas outside of what we typically think of as ‘traditional bear range.”

In the spring and summer months, most bears encountered outside of their typical range are young male bears trying to establish their own territory after no longer being protected by a mother bear. In some cases, though, it can be mothers with cubs or other mature bears in search of a new home or steady source of food.

Keeping Bears Off Of Your Property

While there is no way to prevent a black bear from wandering into a neighborhood, the DNR offers the following tips to discourage them from staying:

• Never feed a bear. Keep items like grills, pet food and bird feeders off-limits to bears. Clean and store grills when not using them. Keep pet food indoors and take down bird feeders in April through November, when bears are most active.
• Use “bear-proof” garbage containers, or store garbage in the garage or other enclosed areas until the morning of pick-up day.

Properly securing food and garbage prevents bears from accessing these non-natural, human-provided food sources, and helps avoid the unhealthy process of habituation that occurs when bears obtain food from people and begin associating humans with food, the DNR says.

If A Bear Is Sighted In Your Neighborhood

• Leave all bears alone. Usually, they are only passing through an area.
• Stay a safe distance away. Do not try to approach a bear.
• Never attempt to “tree” or corner a bear as it compromises the safety and welfare of both the public and the bear.

Hammond said bears sighted during winter months are most likely bears that have bedded down for the winter nearby and established a home range. Bears are extremely adaptable wild animals and readily adjust their diet and habits to take advantage of non-natural, human-provided foods, he said

Black bears are the only bears found in Georgia and are a high priority in the state’s conservation strategy. While they are now the most common bear in North America, black bears were nearly eradicated from Georgia in the 1930s due to unregulated market hunting, poaching and large-scale habitat loss.

The DNR now estimates there are about 5,100 black bears living in Georgia.

They may be legally hunted in the fall in certain areas, but killing bears any other time or in an area that is not approved is considered poaching and is illegal. Georgians are encouraged to report any illegal bear hunting they know about.

To learn more about living responsibly with bears in Georgia, visit the DNR’s Web page on the topic or watch this video.