When your family goes outdoors for adventure, the last thing you expect to encounter is problem wildlife, especially black bears. Now the problem seems to be growing across America and Georgia joins the growing list of state’s telling campers and folks headed outdoors to be “bear aware.”
“Bears can become habituated to people when they are fed – whether intentional or not. When a bear knows it can get a ‘free meal,’ it will return again and again until eventually it loses its natural fear of humans. This is when the majority of human-bear conflicts occur, and the bear is labeled a nuisance,” explained Adam Hammond, a wildlife biologist with the Department of Natural Resources’ Wildlife Resources Division. Georgia reports three bear populations—in the northern mountains, in the central region, and in the Okefenokee Swamp in the southeastern part of the state. But residents and visitors are warned bears could be anywhere since they roam large regions.
Several states now urge homeowners to remove bird feeders at sunset, place garbage in bear proof containers, and take other special precautions to discourage bears from coming around. Georgia has also developed a bear resource list. Details are at: http://www.georgiawildlife.com/node/3061
Not to scare you, but according to some statistics black bears have killed more humans in America than any other bear species. The reasons for this are obvious: that black bears can be found all across the U.S., and these bears are the No. 1 species anyone outdoors is most likely to encounter.
