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urbpanThat I can even consider the black bear (Ursus americanus) for an article in a publication about urban nature is somewhat astonishing. The bear is symbolic of the wilderness, climbing trees to raid beehives and slapping fish out of the water. A bear in the city is hopelessly out of place, too big to hide under a porch or in the sewer. Two times in recent memory that a bear found itself in a New England city (Worcester, Mass, in 2002, and South Portland Maine, in May of this year), the animal was shot and killed by police. 1,2
It's as though the forest is a prison, and a bear that leaves them has committed a jailbreak. The bear in Worcester was shot while cowering in a tree, the one in South Portland was gunned down as it scrambled over a chain link fence. Public outcry in Worcester has changed police policy in that city, and at least two black bears were tranquilized and relocated in 2003. 1,2
Unfortunately, the idea of a city is changing, and all human changes happen too fast for animals to adapt. Cities are now less densely populated environments that sprawl, amoeba-like, spreading into former wildernesses. Instead of clusters of towering buildings teeming with humanity, new cities are thousands of one-acre lots, surrounded by lawns and roads. Bears, in fact, do den under porches in some areas.
Bear hunters in New England should apparently be happy about the bears' troubles. " Black bear populations are on the rise over much of northern and central New England, and nuisance complaints are also on the rise. Several states now routinely distribute information to the public on how to deal with the problem." 3 Will increased bear hunting in northern and central New England keep the bears from entering cities in southern and eastern New England? Or will the pressure of being preyed upon drive the bears into the cities, where only police are allowed to shoot them? Perhaps viewing humans as predators will convince bears to avoid places where these dangerous animals live in density.
The increase in nuisance complaints cited above is remarkable in itself. Though there was only on average 3 complaints per year in the 70's, Massachusetts is now collecting well over 100 annually. The population of black bears in the state is estimated at about 2000, meaning that one out of every twenty bears is getting on some humans' nerves (or that there are a handful of very active troublemakers). Most complaints are bears raiding birdfeeders and cornfields. 4
In New Jersey, the nation's most densely populated state, bear complaints have caused a 33 year-old ban on hunting the animal to fall. 2003 was the first year for the bear hunting season, and 328 were killed. 5. The Humane Society recommends conflict avoidance, as in, "don't feed the bears," even inadvertently. They wisely point out that rural bear hunting does not control urban bears. "The bears killed in a hunt inhabit areas away from people (such as the Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area in New Jersey); these are bears behaving as bears should, and are not the ones causing problems. Hunting bears to reduce human-bear conflicts is like shooting into a crowd of people to reduce crime." 6
I'll let black bear researcher (the man who knows more about black bears than anyone else), Lynn Rogers' hopeful words wrap this up:
"Can we coexist with black bears? The residents of Hemlock Farms, Pennsylvania, suggest we can. Seven thousand residents share this seven square mile town with over 20 black bears. That's three bears per square mile – a higher density than is found in any national park or national forest. The bears hibernate under people's porches and in their back yards, often without the people's knowledge says Dr. Gary Alt who is studying the situation. In the summer, the people have thousands of what are usually called 'encounters.' They see bears, but it's not a problem. They enjoy seeing bears. " 7
1. http://nl.newsbank.com/nl-search/we/Archives
2. http://www.pressherald.com/news/local/040519bear.shtml
3. http://www.newenglandgameandfish.com/ng_aa083403a/
4. http://www.wildlifedamagecontrol.com/blackbear.htm
5. http://www.njfishandwildlife.com/news/2004/gamecd04.htm
6. http://www.hsus.org/ace/20144
7. http://www.bear.org/Black/Articles/How_Dangerous_are_Black_Bears.html
It's as though the forest is a prison, and a bear that leaves them has committed a jailbreak. The bear in Worcester was shot while cowering in a tree, the one in South Portland was gunned down as it scrambled over a chain link fence. Public outcry in Worcester has changed police policy in that city, and at least two black bears were tranquilized and relocated in 2003. 1,2
Unfortunately, the idea of a city is changing, and all human changes happen too fast for animals to adapt. Cities are now less densely populated environments that sprawl, amoeba-like, spreading into former wildernesses. Instead of clusters of towering buildings teeming with humanity, new cities are thousands of one-acre lots, surrounded by lawns and roads. Bears, in fact, do den under porches in some areas.
Bear hunters in New England should apparently be happy about the bears' troubles. " Black bear populations are on the rise over much of northern and central New England, and nuisance complaints are also on the rise. Several states now routinely distribute information to the public on how to deal with the problem." 3 Will increased bear hunting in northern and central New England keep the bears from entering cities in southern and eastern New England? Or will the pressure of being preyed upon drive the bears into the cities, where only police are allowed to shoot them? Perhaps viewing humans as predators will convince bears to avoid places where these dangerous animals live in density.
The increase in nuisance complaints cited above is remarkable in itself. Though there was only on average 3 complaints per year in the 70's, Massachusetts is now collecting well over 100 annually. The population of black bears in the state is estimated at about 2000, meaning that one out of every twenty bears is getting on some humans' nerves (or that there are a handful of very active troublemakers). Most complaints are bears raiding birdfeeders and cornfields. 4
In New Jersey, the nation's most densely populated state, bear complaints have caused a 33 year-old ban on hunting the animal to fall. 2003 was the first year for the bear hunting season, and 328 were killed. 5. The Humane Society recommends conflict avoidance, as in, "don't feed the bears," even inadvertently. They wisely point out that rural bear hunting does not control urban bears. "The bears killed in a hunt inhabit areas away from people (such as the Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area in New Jersey); these are bears behaving as bears should, and are not the ones causing problems. Hunting bears to reduce human-bear conflicts is like shooting into a crowd of people to reduce crime." 6
I'll let black bear researcher (the man who knows more about black bears than anyone else), Lynn Rogers' hopeful words wrap this up:
"Can we coexist with black bears? The residents of Hemlock Farms, Pennsylvania, suggest we can. Seven thousand residents share this seven square mile town with over 20 black bears. That's three bears per square mile – a higher density than is found in any national park or national forest. The bears hibernate under people's porches and in their back yards, often without the people's knowledge says Dr. Gary Alt who is studying the situation. In the summer, the people have thousands of what are usually called 'encounters.' They see bears, but it's not a problem. They enjoy seeing bears. " 7
1. http://nl.newsbank.com/nl-search/we/Archives
2. http://www.pressherald.com/news/local/040519bear.shtml
3. http://www.newenglandgameandfish.com/ng_aa083403a/
4. http://www.wildlifedamagecontrol.com/blackbear.htm
5. http://www.njfishandwildlife.com/news/2004/gamecd04.htm
6. http://www.hsus.org/ace/20144
7. http://www.bear.org/Black/Articles/How_Dangerous_are_Black_Bears.html
