DNR Reminds Property Owners to Prepare for Bear

It’s that time of year when young bears are roaming the rural countryside looking for new territories, and of course, food.

So now might be a good time to add “Bear-proof the garbage” to your spring “to do” list.  Bears become habituated when people feed them, according to Georgia DNR wildlife biologist Adam Hammond.

“When a bear learns that it can get a ‘free meal’ from garbage, it’s going to return again and again until eventually it loses its natural fear of humans,” he said.

There are a number of bears in the Franklin/Hart County woodlands, according to local DNR law enforcement officer Craig Fulgum.

Young adult male bears are wandering the countryside this time of year searching for new territory.

These young males are typically on their own for the first time after being kicked out their original range by older adult males.

Fulgum advises if you spot one of these young male bears, to just leave it alone and keep a good distance away.

He said eventually, the bear will move on in search of food.

Additionally, Fulgum said this time of year females are foraging for food with their cubs and could wander into your yard or on your farm looking for your garbage, and that can be a deadly combination.

“You never want to put yourself between a sow and her cubs,” Fulgum said. “We see people, year in and year out on some of federal and state wildlife management lands wanting to take a picture of a bear cub, bu you can be sure that if you see a cub, mama bear is not far behind and she will not take kindly to you being anywhere near her cubs.”

The black bear population is growing in north Georgia, according to Fulgum, so seeing a bear on your property looking for food, could become more common.

“Our bear population is one of the few populations that is actually on the increase,” he said. “On some of our management areas, our bear kill is higher than our deer kill. I think it’s great to see bear, but we need to learn to co-exist with the bear and the sooner we do, I think we’ll be better off.”

The DNR says you can prevent bear encounters on your property by converting  to bear-proof garbage containers, or keeping garbage cans in a closed area like a garage or shed and  removing  food scraps from your grills and fire pits daily.

And finally remember, it is illegal this time of year to hunt and kill bear.  Bear season in Georgia takes place in the fall.