With the summer just getting started, and tens of thousands are settling into the summer residences in Sullivan County, there have been an uptick in the number of bear sightings. Many of the bear sightings are taking place in broad daylight, as the bears search for food.
The following safety tip are from the NYS DEC, and were previously published by YWN in 2014.
SOME BEAR TIPS:
1. DO NOT FEED BEARS UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES.
2. GARBAGE: Clean up areas around garbage cans and do not put garbage outside over night. Put garbage out only on pickup days.
3. BIRD FEEDERS: Nuisance bear problems are usually a temporary situation in early spring. Bird feeders do attract bears and are often torn down. Take down or clean up all bird feeders (including humming bird feeders) for several weeks after a bear visit.
4. PET FOOD: Feed pets in the house if possible and clean up all left over food.
5. GRILLS: Outdoor grills will attract bears. If you have had a bear problem you should stop cooking outside on your grill, clean it up, and store it in a bear proof area for a couple of weeks.
6. COMPOST PILES: Bears are attracted to all types of garbage. Stop adding refuse to your compost pile and if it is located close to your house you should move it as far away as possible.
7. OTHER: Bears have an extraordinary sense of smell. If you store pet food, fish food, or any other items that might appeal to a bear’s sense of smell under an open shed or in a wooden shed you should remove it to a secure location.
(YWN Sullivan County Newsroom)
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4 Responses
What are the people in this video thinking? Bears are DANGEROUS. They are wild animals, not cute toys. If you frighten or annoy them enough they can charge someone, and CH”V kill them. You certainly don’t stand around with your little kids watching them. Put the kids in the house and call 911 ASAP. Do not approach a bear, no matter what it’s doing or what object of yours it is trashing. They are surprisingly fast, and what you think is a safe distance probably isn’t.
BEARS AND BABIES. Bears kill and eat small animals, and they may not identify a child or baby as human simply because it’s small. I have read of at least one tragedy in a NJ bungalow colony where a bear grabbed a baby from an unattended stroller and killed it. If you think there might be bears around don’t leave your children unwatched and never leave a baby outside in a stroller. It isn’t worth the potential heartbreak.
BTW: the bears would say it’s all our fault. After all, we’re the ones who came and chopped down their woods and built a bungalow colony in its place. Why shouldn’t they raid our garbage cans, since we took away their natural food source? The bears are just being bears. We’re the ones who have to be alert and not do dumb stuff like leaving food out or following them around with a camera making loud noises. (That guy was lucky the bear wasn’t in a bad mood. It’s definitely one of those “do not try this at home” moments.)
And if you see a mother bear with cubs, or a cub alone, GET OUT OF THERE. Don’t turn around and run, because the bear will instinctively chase you, but back away slowly well out of range, and call 911. Mother bears are extremely aggressive when protecting their babies.
May we all have a safe, enjoyable summer.
check your eruv poles!
which bungalows were they