The Bear Essentials

Last week a woman posted with a photo on Facebook of a grizzly bear nestled among bags of garbage that she had left out overnight.  She was elated that her visit to Mack’s Inn was graced by a bear visit. Sightings have been increasing recently as bears search for food ahead of winter.

A few weeks ago Sheri and I drove to our favorite huckleberry patch. The plants were stressed and we found no berries anywhere. We hit a few other favorite locations and found the same results, no berries. If the berries had matured early, there would have been some dried berries on the bushes but there was no sign of an early berry crop. 

This year’s weather had adversely affected the berries.

Active bears and no berries is not a good combination. When any traditional food source is interrupted, animals search for a replacement. The drive to add body weight before hibernation is a matter of survival for bears and they aggressively strive to find that need. If they find their calories within the proximity of people, they will break into the cabins and outbuildings of Island Park.

What initially was a cute glimpse of a bear in a pile of garbage sacks may end in tragedy if someone surprises a furry forager. Bear encounters can be deadly. 

While writing this article I received a friend’s call. He informed me that Sunday night rampaging bears had raided garbage along North Big Springs Loop Rd. I met him at a cabin on Amethyst St. where the bears had torn the door off a shed to gain access to the household waste. Be careful. Take your garbage to the dump often instead of storing it until you have a bigger load. Eliminate tempting food sources while in the caldera and avoid not only property damage but a potentially deadly bear encounter.